New Zealand seen as least corrupt country

New Zealand is seen as the least corrupt country, according to a new report. The Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index shows New Zealand and Denmark tied for the top spot – with a score of 87 out of 100 – in a review of 180 countries.

The list shows the most corrupt countries as Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria.

Justice Minister Andrew Little told Radio NZ the ranking showed New Zealand took anti-corruption measures seriously. ‘‘We are as close as you could possibly be to being free of corruption.’’

The ranking – judged by business people and experts – is based on the perceived levels of corruption in the public sector, such as bribery, money laundering and fraud, as well as various surveys and benchmarks. Little said the report highlighted one of the growing risks as the impact of money on electoral processes. ‘‘That is an issue that we put in our foreign donations ban ... we have committed to a rewrite of our electoral law to bring it up to speed.’’ However, he said New Zealand was not taking it for granted and there was more that could be done. ‘‘Our principal anticorruption agency is the Serious Fraud Office; we have to question whether the remit of that office goes far enough, whether we should be looking at an outfit that has a broad arraignment that deals with all forms of corruption, not just financial issues.’’

Transparency International New Zealand chairwoman Suzanne Snively said New Zealand’s strength was in its commitment to investigate and prosecute fraud.

She said organisations that aimed to deter wrongdoing in the public sector could also help improve New Zealand’s score if they were given extra resources.

With the upcoming national elections, Snively said this was a good opportunity to shine a light on political integrity.

‘‘We must have high expectations of our national and local politicians. Any behaviour that tries to circumvent the electoral rules undermines the public’s trust in politicians.’’– RNZ