ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕'𝕤 𝕤𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕝𝕚𝕡𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕦𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕀𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕩

𝔸𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕒 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕘𝕝𝕠𝕓𝕒𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕦𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤, 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕪 𝕀𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝'𝕤 𝕟𝕖𝕨𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥.

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ew Zealand fell two places in the 2023 Corruptions Perceptions Index (CPI) published on Tuesday, behind Denmark and Finland.

We haven't been placed third since 2012.

The CPI gathers data from people in 180 countries and territories on how people perceive corruption in their country's public service. 

New Zealand scored 85 out of 100 in the CPI. Higher scores mean lower perceived corruption.

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'Complacency is not an option'

Anne Tolley, chair of Transparency International NZ and a former National MP, said despite our low levels of corruption, "complacency is not an option".

"Maintaining low levels of corruption is essential for our economy and for our values of fairness and accountability."

Give the corruption level of this country another 6 months under this Government and their cronies and we will be further down. Luxon and the National, ACT and NZ First in it for their mates. https://t.co/iiwySjx3AD

— Reality Estate 🍥 (@RealityEstateNZ) January 30, 2024

The drop in ranking was attributed to one part of the CPI, called the Executive Opinion Survey.

Respondents were asked how common it is for businesses to make undocumented payments or bribes to do with trade, taxes, public services, or government contracts.

It also asked how common it was for public funds to be funnelled to other individuals or groups.

'High-profile prosecutions'

Julie Haggie, CEO of Transparency International NZ, said there is more to learn about why Aotearoa fell in the corruption rankings.

"There were a number of high-profile prosecutions during the last year in areas such as fraud, tax evasion and COVID subsidy-related fraud prosecutions."

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Haggie also said scammers were a growing problem for Kiwis, and that more transparency is needed for government spending.

"When times are tough people are keener to know where revenue is spent, and whether everyone is paying their fair share and having the same opportunities."

Running since 1995, the CPI uses data from the World Bank, the World Economic Forum (WEF), private actuarial and consulting companies, plus think tanks and other sources.

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