Will's Word: Why is NZ no longer a global leader in transparency?

I was talking about it a bit earlier on in the show, and that is, our slipping ranking when it comes to the corruption index.

New Zealand was once a global leader in transparency, but we've just taken a major step back.

Our score on the 2024 corruption perceptions index, or CPI as it's also known, dropped from 85 to 83, which may not sound like a lot, but boy, has it pushed us down to fourth place globally.

We've also lost our top spot in the Asia-Pacific region.

The decline started back in 2015 and seems to be picking up speed.

According to Transparency International New Zealand, we've been pretty complacent, is the argument, in tackling corruption.

Public procurement, immigration services, and fraud are all on the rise, and our institutions are apparently not doing enough to stop it.

The lack of a strong, coordinated anti-corruption agency and the right laws has frankly allowed this to happen.

Lobbying as well, surely that's a problem in our country.

Our 2024 corruption perceptions index score dropped from 85 to 83. Photo/Transparency International

If you don't know what lobbying is, it's when pressure groups get in front of politicians, ultimately to sway them in their decisions. That's a very broad way, or generalised way, of how lobbying works.

But it is still a problem in this country.

If we want to get back to where we were once, we need to change our approach.

I think we need clear, strong leadership, and better laws. You know, we've been talking about this for years. I remember when I entered journalism, when I entered the media industry seven years ago, there was talk of a dedicated agency focused on fighting corruption.

But look where we are, still no agency, still no one to hold corruption to account in this country, and because of it we're slipping further down the ranking. Shameful.

That's Will's Word.

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