Articles

Clarity on climate change to hasten progress

Transparency International New Zealand’s sponsors, partners and affiliates are encouraged to regularly contribute pertinent articles relevant to our audience. This article is from TINZ’s Partner, Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ).

Prime Minster, Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, has called climate change “the biggest challenge of our generation”.

TINZ welcomes two new directors

Transparency International New Zealand welcomes two new interim Directors, Prof John Hopkins and Henry Lynch.  They will be taking over terms recently vacated by Conway Powell and Mark Sainsbury.

Dr. John Hopkins is a Professor of Public Law at the University of Canterbury with a long record of working in the fields of public integrity and the Rule of Law.

Trust, transparency and business

Under the title of “the Trust Crisis”, the April/May Edition of Acuity (the magazine of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand) contains two articles on the topic of trust and business. Each emphasises the important role of trust for businesses and the need for transparency.

From the Chair June 2018

Business confidence, falling after last year’s election, has been buoyed by news that the Government is in discussion with the European Union over a new free trade agreement.

The Coalition Government has also taken steps to progress the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and to refresh the China Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). Business leaders believe that these agreements are beneficial to their growth.

Sustainable Development Goals gaining momentum

In a video link to the recent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit (1), Helen Clark (2) said “Sustainable development is not something somebody else somewhere has to do. We have to do it. We in New Zealand have to make a contribution to having sustainable human development”.

Anti-money Laundering: Next Steps after Phase 2

Phase 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime compliance begins taking affect from 1 July 2018.

Phase 2 extends the AML/CFT regime to lawyers, conveyancers, accountants, real estate agents, sports and race betting, and certain high value dealers. Sectors are affected in stages, with lawyers and conveyancers required to comply starting from 1 July 2018,

Open Government Partnership needs your ideas!

Preparation of New Zealand’s Open Government Partnership National Action Plan (OGP-NAP) 2018-2020 is well under way, coordinated by a dedicated small team within the State Services Commission. A much sought-after objective is being pursued from May to July to engage civil society,

Modern Slavery – Part 3

Third in a series of articles to build awareness on modern slavery, particularly in New Zealand.

In the previous issue of the Transparency Times, I noted that New Zealand sectors including construction, dairy, fishing, horticulture, hospitality, international education and sex work are at risk from Modern Slavery (see Modern Slavery part 1 and Modern Slavery part 2)

Sadly,

Budget day gold nuggets

The Minister of Finance, Hon Grant Robertson, presented his 2018 Budget on 17 May to a fanfare of both ‘too cautious’ and ‘not cautious enough’ commentaries from across the political spectrum.

Patron and Director retirements from TINZ leadership

A dinner was held in Auckland following the May Board meeting, to mark the following retirements:  

Sir Don McKinnon who served as the TINZ Patron from 2015, has provided highly valued contributions including:

• linking TINZ to his extensive Auckland networks
• providing context on the activities of the Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth leaders, particularly when TINZ attempted to contact TI’s African chapters
• spokesperson on transparency issues such as quotes to news media and participation in radio interviews
•  expertise on the Pacific which provided important insights into TINZ’s Pacific strategy.