Following the results of the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and the Anti-Corruption Taskforce Pilot Report, we held a special event for the TINZ Leaders Integrity Forum and TINZ members to reflect on the findings. You can watch highlights from this event here:
This event was chaired by Deputy Chair of TINZ Debbie Gee (MBA, CMInstD, AAMINZ, GIAP2, SIP) and we were pleased to welcome to the panel the Global Chair of Transparency International François Valérian, Deputy CEO of the Serious Fraud Office - New Zealand Dan Eaton, the Manager of Detection and Prevention at the Serious Fraud Office Rose Rehm and New Zealand Business Integrity Expert Suzanne Snively ONZM, DNZM.
Debbie introduced the discussion by pointing out that our declining CPI score signals growing risks to the country's domestic integrity and global reputation. Further, the Anti Corruption Workforce Pilot revealed that internal fraud and corruption in New Zealand's public sector are likely significantly underreported, with potential losses of eight twenty three million to billion annually.
Suzanne noted that it's really important to put into context just how small New Zealand is and how far away we are from the rest of the world. As our index falls, it means we have to work that much harder to have a strong brand.
She said “Curiously we've done a lot to actually address corruption in New Zealand. And in a way the drop in the corruption perceptions index is an indication of what’s been done because sometypes of corruption are much more transparent in New Zealand now than they were fifteen years ago.
That doesn't mean that we have to stop working. Maintaining a solid reputation is vital to our exporters and to our overall country's reputation when we try to do anything globally.”
Dan Eaton from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) indicated that the number of complaints received annually by the SFO has grown by about twenty percent a year over the last couple of years; with about forty percent of their cases now consisting of corruption related matters across all sectors, including a number in the public sector.
One of the most common areas where they are seeing corruption is public procurement, which is not surprising given the amount of money involved. Every year our public sector spends over fifty one billion dollars on goods and services. This process is where government activity is most vulnerable to waste and fraud and corruption due to the size of the financial flows involved.
The anti-corruption task force pilot also highlights the risk that bad actors can move around the public sector when their improper conduct in one organization does not follow them to the next position for a number of reasons.
Rose Rehm discussed the need for a shift in consciousness around small breaches such as attempted bribery - noting it is likely not an isolated event but linked to a broader pattern of behavior.
The SFO is also thinking a lot more about transnational organized crime and other risks like foreign interference.
François Valérian, Chair of Transparency International globally commented on the CPI results from a global perspective.
“What we observed this year is not fundamentally different from what we observed over previous years. We are missing enforcement, we are missing interest and we are missing true commitment from certain governments.
Over the last thirty years, governments have been very good at enacting laws, creating institutions. But what is clearly missing is enforcement.
Now we also have a concerning lack of interest on the part of some governments, including from the global north, some Western European governments, the British government, the French government.
We are now seeing a culture of conflict of interest in those few countries which used to exercise leadership in the fight against corruption.
When you foster a culture of confrontation instead of cooperation, when you think that the right way to approach corruption, climate, and a number of global issues is to enter into confrontation with your neighbors, with other countries, you are wrong.
You are wrong in an interconnected world, you are also wrong for your own country.“
