Let’s be honest about why NZ has tumbled in corruption rankings

New Zealand slips off least-corrupt podium

New Zealand has slipped to fourth place in the worldwide rankings of the country’s least corrupt countries, with the country achieving its worst placing ever on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.

In February last year, Speaker Gerry Brownlee cited privacy concerns when he ended the practice of making public which lobbyists were allocated Parliamentary swipe-cards.

During each term of government, several ministers have moved to their next job as lobbyists, with the most recent examples being Kiri Allen and Stuart Nash.

Haggie said the governments’ slow-walking of long-discussed transparency measures, like a register of beneficial ownership which would unmask who really stood behind companies and trusts, was also a concern.

Tinz said New Zealand was seeing – in the courts and elsewhere – corruption in public procurement and contracting, immigration cases including migrant exploitation, and financial institutions were not adequately identifying risks around transacting with politically exposed persons.

In 2016, the Serious Fraud Office secured its largest bribery conviction – over $1m paid by a roading contractor to various council staff – and a trickle of similar cases, largely involving local-body procurement, have followed since.

The increased use of urgency in Parliament also came in for criticism in Tinz reports: “Where legislation is passed under urgency or where it is poorly considered, this can undermine both public participation and judicial oversight.”

We need to be honest about why we are dropping in corruption stakes.

This Government has traded the common good in for donors interests while using culture war bullshit to keep us distracted.

The fast track powers giving companies who have donated an advantage is graft and this Government knows one thing and one thing only – graft!

Look at the manner in which someone like Shane Jones is utterly compromised, or Mckee pimping for guns or Costello pimping for tobacco.

This Government is as transactional as Trump is.

Passing laws for donors interests while the people who didn”t donate suffer is naked corruption.

This venal truth is only dawning on Kiwis now.

Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.