Dame Patsy Reddy GNZM QSO DStJ has been appointed TINZ Patron having finishing her term as 21st Governor-General of New Zealand. She has had extensive experience in governance and business consulting roles.

Today, 9 December is World Anti-Corruption Day. The 2021 International Anti-Corruption Day seeks to highlight the rights and responsibilities of everyone - including States, Government officials, civil servants, law enforcement officers, media representatives, the private sector, civil society, academia, the public and youth - in tackling corruption.

The Transparency International New Zealand (TINZ) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 18 November entirely online. Highlights included a farewell from Patron Lyn Provost, a welcome to the new Patron Dame Patsy Reddy, presentation of the annual report from Julie Haggie, the board election and awarding lifetime memberships to Lyn and Stephanie Hopkins.

The recently released Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer - Pacific is the largest, most detailed survey of corruption in the region: how people experience it, whether they feel corruption is on the rise, and what they think are the most urgent problems.

The combined defence sector in New Zealand is ranked the most transparent and least corrupt in the world in the recently released Government Defence Integrity Index (GDI). In the same week the report of the Expert Review Group (following the Operation Burnham inquiry) highlights the need for improvements with the NZ Defence Force culture and transparency.

Corruption such as in occurred with Mozambican bond fraud severely impacts the lives of millions, while justice for the perpetrators is slow and manageable.

Danika Hotham, inaugural recipient of the Suzanne Snively Scholarship, has published her research related to ‘Politics, State and Society in the Pacific Islands.’

Civil society is operating in an increasingly hostile environment. The best way to create social cohesion is to allow charities to do their work without undue government interference. Sadly, the current review risks heading in the opposite direction.

The majority of employees in New Zealand are confident their organisations are honest and there is no misconduct at work, but their line managers don’t always explain the importance of honesty and ethics in the work they are leading.

In 2019, the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians New Zealand Group (CWP NZ) worked together to create and introduce the Crimes (Definition of Female Genital Mutilation) Amendment Bill. This bill was crafted through strong cross party collaboration.