Shining a Light: Improving transparency in New Zealand’s political and governance systems is a new report from the Helen Clark Foundation. You can download it here.
The report considers the growing perception of corruption in New Zealand’s political and governance systems in recent years and why this matters.
Our research identifies five areas most vulnerable to corrupt practices: the practice of political lobbying; political donations and elections funding; access to official information; foreign bribery; and beneficial ownership of corporate entities.
We make a number of recommendations to make our political systems fairer, some of which have been put forward previously by reputable bodies, but so far current and previous governments have failed to implement them. These include:
- Regulating lobbying
- Limiting donations to political parties and improving disclosure of these donations
- Improving access to official information
- Strengthening laws against foreign bribery
- Establish a registry of beneficial ownership
The report is a timely examination of the key issues that affect transparency and integrity in New Zealand. We were particularly pleased to have a foreword written by former National Government Attorney General Hon Chris Finlayson, who writes:
Read moreCorruption is an insidious cancer. It is not enough for democracies like ours to pay lip service to principles of transparency and steps which need to be taken against corruption. New Zealand must critically examine the issues raised in this report on a regular basis and implement law changes, if necessary, as quickly as possible.
