New Zealand Drops to 2nd 'Least Corrupt Country' in 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index

Transparency International announced today that Denmark has overtaken New Zealand to become the county with the lowest level of perceived corruption in the public sector in 2014.

The Corruption Perceptions Index 2014 ranks 175 countries on a scale of zero to 100.

New Zealand score of 91 was pipped by Denmark who moved up one point from last year to 92. The perceived most corrupt countries were North Korea and Somalia, both with scores of 8, ranked 175.

Australia's score fell from 81 to 80 and it is ranking fell from 10 to 11.

The scores were compiled prior to July 2014, this was just before New Zealand's election campaign.

"An obstacle to New Zealand leading the index is its failure to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) over the past 11 years, and which most countries have ratified," Transparency International New Zealand Chair Suzanne Snively said today.

"Our ability to ratify was delayed until the legislation required to deal with corruption offences was put in place.

"The long-awaited Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill, an omnibus bill, recently had its first reading in Parliament and we are encouraged that the bill was referred unanimously to Select Committee as one of the first acts of Parliament following the election in October.

"We now need to ensure the Bill is fit for purpose and it reflects government, business and community commitment to being corruption-free."

Once this bill is introduced, ratification will also allow New Zealand to comply with the OECD Convention.

"Our ranking as number 2 most trusted public sector reinforces that there is still much more to do to protect our good reputation.

"This ranking of the public sector belies the fact that New Zealand companies are facing increased exposure to risks of corruption as we increase our trade and operate increasingly in countries where corruption practices exist.

"China's score fell to 36, despite its Premier making anti-corruption a key priority and is ranked 100. India's new leader, who has also made anti-corruption a priority, scored 38,ranking it above China at 85.

"These are countries that we are trading with more intensely and clearly, their reputations are not as sound as ours.

"New Zealand companies are urged to take the risks to New Zealand's reputation seriously and to ensure their staff are supported with policies and guidelines about what to do.

"This is a fundamental matter of governance. Ensuring employees are supported to know what to do when faced with issues that could be corrupt not only protects valued staff members and organisations from legal dilemmas but also ensures safety nets are in place to support our firms who do business overseas to do good honest business all the time.

"Free online self directed training is available to help on TINZ's website. Overseas trading businesses are missing out on opportunities to improve their returns if they haven't considered the impact of their involvement in corruption and if they don't know the law and how it impacts them not using it", Ms Snively said

The Chief Executive of Business NZ, Phil O'Reilly echoed Transparency International's call for urgency on employers to train their staff to ensure the integrity of the country's reputation.

"We must continually improve our anti-corruption performance in business as well as government to maintain the very best standards in the world," Mr. O'Reilly said.

Click for big version.

ENDS

© Scoop Media