Candidates and elected members of local government will have free access to a ‘Road Trip’ online learning resource published by Transparency International New Zealand (TINZ) today.

Transparency International New Zealand (TINZ) is excited to release a Transparency, Governance and Decision making road trip for local government. The TINZ road trip is a journey through behaviours and knowledge that are essential to local government leadership.

Ever wondered what to ask an election candidate? So little information is provided in the candidate sheets. But you can add more power to your vote by asking them questions about things that matter to you. We have some suggestions.

Transparency initiatives like the recently published Aid Transparency Index 2022, play a key role in holding donor agencies to account.

The May Leaders Integrity Forum blog post is now available. One key message was that transparency around the reasoning around how decisions are made is important when faced with the difficult task of balancing different, and competing, human rights for the well-being and future of New Zealand.

TINZ recently surveyed its members in order to inform its feedback to a research team from the OECD and Te Kawa Mataaho | New Zealand Public Service Commission. This team is carrying out a case study on the drivers of trust that people have in government institutions in New Zealand.

The Office of the Auditor-General’s new integrity framework for the public sector is designed to support leaders and organisations to strive for a culture of integrity.

The Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission announced two key new publications - Acting in the Spirit of Service Speaking Up and Public Participation in Government in the Future - Draft for Consultation.

Transparency International New Zealand is finalising its approach for ongoing revisions to the National Integrity System Assessment utilising a functional approach.

Former New Zealand Government Statistician Len Cook raises serious concerns about the Data and Statistics Bill quietly working its way through Parliament

Julie Read has quietly left the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) after nine years at the helm. TINZ wishes to acknowledge the major contribution she made to shedding light on corruption in New Zealand and on showing how to effectively prosecute perpetrators.

Parliament is establishing an ‘independent person’ role for apparent violations of new behavioural standards for members of Parliament. They are seeking feedback on the draft protocol.

The theme of the last Leaders Integrity Forum for 2021 focused on section 14 of the Public Service Act 2020 that explicitly recognizes the role of the public service to support the Crown in its relationships with Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi).

From the perspective of judging a government’s commitment to openness, they are conveying a signal that no government would choose: that there is no policy coherence between stated intent and reality.

The proposal is in line with the recommendations of the Burnham inquiry, and also with the reflections of the Expert Review Group (arising from that inquiry), on the accountability and transparency needed by Defence to maintain its social licence.

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.

The combined defence sector in New Zealand is ranked the most transparent and least corrupt in the world in the just released Government Defence Integrity Index (GDI).

In November TINZ will host two launch events for two important reports: the Pacific Corruption Barometer and the Government Defence Integrity Index

In June 2021 the top public sector auditors from across the Pacific met together for the annual Congress of the Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI). This year’s congress was held online, enabling streamed attendance from Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) across the Pacific and around the world.

Transparency International New Zealand runs a series of Leaders Integrity Forums on issues relating to transparency, accountability, corruption-prevention and integrity for public sector leaders. Two recent cracking good forums for public sector leaders were held recently.

TINZ offered two submissions in August. We entered a submission to the Ministry of Justice regarding proposals against incitement of hatred and discrimination and one on the Māori electoral option.

Giving effect to the Public Service principles of open government and stewardship: An introduction to long-term insights briefings.

The International Budget Partnership conducted special research in 120 countries that shows government fiscal policy responses to the COVID crisis are undermining accountability and transparency. In New Zealand some good practices fell by the wayside.

TINZ has submitted on the Incorporated Societies Bill currently being considered by the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee. Good governance and integrity is as important in civil society organisations as it is in public and business sector.

Maintaining integrity when the only certainty is uncertainty was the theme of the February 2021 Public Sector Leaders Integrity Forum.

As the Government rolls up its sleeves for its 2021 workload, a number of initiatives are underway that demonstrate anti-corruption is an important agenda item. Transparency International New Zealand is keeping watch on these ongoing efforts.

The project for tracking the commitments made during the 2016 Anti-Corruption Summit is being concluded with a final report "From Practice to Impact" published in December 2020.

Never in New Zealand’s history has it been more important to channel government spending inwardly to ensure it is delivering sustainable outcomes for New Zealanders. A Particularly salient section of the latest Government Procurement Rules is Rule 16 ‘Broader outcomes.’

The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is undertaking a public consultation to understand the potential benefits, opportunities, and other impacts of extending the Government Procurement Rules to more government entities in the New Zealand public sector.

The new proposed Parliamentary Code of Conduct addresses important issues of inappropriate sexual conduct and bullying. The code is part of proposals to make Parliament a safer working environment, from one where unacceptable conduct had become "normalised”.

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) was found to have "manifestly inadequate" administration and institutional accountability systems for gathering, recording, preserving, investigating and providing information. This directly impacted on the quality of information provided by NZDF to successive Ministers of Defence, and through them to Parliament.

The July 2020 Groupthink webinar focussed on democracy under threat, as reflected in social media. Sanjana Hattotuwa spoke about weaponising social media while Josie Pagani focussed on New Zealand’s population dynamics. Kim Connolly-Stone was MC for this most insightful session.

June Brain Food Webinar recap The aspirational outcome for this webinar is that we can build a team to bring about changes to the law, policies and practice around beneficial ownership, to better protect New Zealand from potentially massive impacts of international grand corruption.

The level of compliance of government agencies with the mandatory procurement rules needs significant improvement. All government agencies need to improve the quality of the information that they monitor and publish about contract award notices.

For the effectiveness of the Protective Disclosures Bill as it currently stands before Parliament, the proof will be in the pudding. It will be important to have more rigorous monitoring of whistleblowing events and outcomes to determine if the new legislation actually encourages more people to speak up.

Transparency International UK chapter created the Anti-corruption Pledge Tracker in 2017 and has maintained it since. This tool visualises and documents progress made since the conclusion of the summit. The latest update released in May 2020 reflects New Zealand's continued progress.

Along with many other civil society organisations Transparency International New Zealand has added its name to an international declaration on COVID-19 and its risks to open government.

Citizens have looked to the government for timely and reliable information to protect themselves, their families and their communities particularly in this time of crisis. The 2019 Open Budget Survey provides insight, strengths, weaknesses and practical areas of improvement in New Zealand's budget process.  

Throughout the COVID-19 lockdown, the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) has continued to work on the Access to Secondary Legislation project. They now report on this in their latest technical update.

Times of crisis bring out the very best of nearly everyone. Unfortunately it also brings out the few who look at this as a time of opportunity. From small scale scams on individuals to misuse of billions earmarked for aid, this is a time of great risk. There are lots of warnings, let's heed them.

TINZ’s February 2020 submission on the Secondary Legislation Bill emphasised that getting the legislation to be more consistent is one thing. But an equally high priority ought to ensure people can access the secondary legislation.

In November Transparency International UK launched the Anti-Corruption Pledge Tracker that globally monitors the progress of the commitments made by governments at the 2016 Anti-Corruption Summit in London.