On 10 February, Transparency International released the 2025 Corruption Perception Index. New Zealand’s declining Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) score signals growing risks to the country’s democratic integrity and global reputation.
New Zealand's CPI score has fallen by two points for the fourth consecutive year—a 10% drop overall. While we still rank equal fourth with Norway, this continued slide reflects diminishing confidence among business experts and international assessors in the integrity of the public sector.
“Transparency, integrity and accountability are cornerstones of our democracy”, says Anne Tolley, Chair of TINZ. “We are seeing these values being chipped away.”
Over the past year, prosecutions involving bribery, deception, and misuse of public funds and power—including bid-rigging, cartel behaviour, driver licensing rorts and COVID-related fraud—have highlighted systemic weaknesses and a troubling disregard for both public money and integrity in general.
The just published pilot report from the Anti-Corruption Taskforce validates the expert perceptions in the CPI. It finds that internal fraud and corruption are almost certainly being under-reported and the true scale of the issue remains unclear, but what is reported in this pilot is alarming.
TINZ is also concerned by allegations affecting the integrity of voting processes in both local and national elections—issues that strike at the core of democratic trust.
“An additional major concern is the lack of transparency around lobbying and political donations,” Tolley says. “Voters have little visibility of who is influencing political decision-making. At the same time, some businesses continue to operate in the shadows, enabling money laundering and tax evasion. Investigative agencies remain hampered by reduced resources and inadequate legislative tools.”
This year’s CPI decline is driven by survey results assessing bribery and corruption risks in trade, public contracting, licensing, judicial decision-making, and the diversion of public funds for private gain.
While government agencies have strengthened some accountability measures and improved cross-agency collaboration, corruption is a broader and more complex problem. It requires cohesive action and clear strategic direction from central and local government, supported by business and civil society.
In 2025, expert advisors informed Minister Costello that New Zealand remains the only Five Eyes country without a whole-of-government national anti-corruption strategy. This absence has created a significant gap in the country’s capacity to prevent, detect, and respond effectively to corruption risks in both the public and private sectors.
What Is Needed
TINZ calls for:
- A comprehensive national anti-corruption strategy
- Stronger transparency through lobbying regulation and timely disclosure of political donations
- Enhanced oversight to safeguard voting and electoral processes
“We understand that economic growth is a priority for the current Government,” Tolley says, “but a sound economy is inseparable from a robust democracy.”
“In an election year, people need to know who is driving policy change and have fair opportunities to participate in decision-making. We need real consequences for those who abuse our financial and political systems, and agencies with the leadership and capacity to reverse the troubling trends of bribery, fraud, kickbacks, and secret deals.”
