Integrity Briefing: Kiwis are waking up with alarm to NZ’s tarnished democracy

Alarm bells sounded last Tuesday about the integrity of New Zealand politics. Global integrity watchdog Transparency International released its annual Corruption Perception Index, showing that New Zealand had dropped its ranking and score again. Since then, there’s been much talk about the urgent need to fix problems in regulating corporate lobbying that Transparency International says tarnishes New Zealand’s democracy.

Those who want to view New Zealand’s integrity problems through rose-tinted glasses will point out that the country still has a relatively high score of 83 out of 100 in its integrity ratings (a measure in which a full democracy with no corruption would get 100). Cheerleaders would also point out that New Zealand has only dropped one place in the global rankings to number four, which is still above 176 countries worldwide.

Countries like New Zealand are going backwards

However, it's right to sound the alarm bells because New Zealand’s integrity trajectory is very much downward. This year’s fourth-place ranking and a score of 83 are the worst New Zealand has received since the index was created in 1992. Usually, New Zealand is at the very top, often at number one, and is declared the least corrupt country on earth. However, since 2015, New Zealand has been slowly but surely losing its international reputation.

International media drew attention last week to New Zealand’s first-ever fall out of the Top Three. This is part of a global trend of other advanced liberal capitalist countries losing integrity in their political systems and becoming more beholden to wealthy vested interests. Therefore, not only Russia and Venezuela are being criticised for backsliding on democracy, but also nations that were once thought to be constantly improving.

The United States dropped from 24th place to 28^th (with its score out of 100 dropping from 69 to 65). France fell five spots to 25^th (dropping four points to 67). Germany was down 6 places to 15^th (dropping 3 points to 75). Canada was down three places to 15 (and down 1 point to 75). The United Kingdom is also at its lowest score and ranking ever (ranking 20^th, scoring 71 points).

We must learn from Australia

On surface appearances, New Zealand is doing much better than longtime rivals Australia. Our neighbours are six places behind New Zealand, ranked 10^th in the world, with a score of 77/100, which is six points behind. However, Australia is primed to eventually pass New Zealand, as its trajectory is firmly headed up.

Australia had previously suffered the same integrity slide that New Zealand is now experiencing. Back in 2012, they scored 85/100 and were ranked 7^th in the world. But by 2021, Australia had slid to 18th place and a lowly score of only 73.

Australian alarm bells then rang, and politicians were pressured to implement significant reforms to reverse the country's integrity decline. In 2022, a National Anti-Corruption Commission was created. The political appointment mechanisms for government agencies were strengthened. In recent years, a renewed commitment to the global Open Government Partnership was made. Foreign bribery laws were strengthened in 2024.

Australians still have significant problems with political donations and lobbying, but they are miles ahead of New Zealand in taking their problems seriously. This year, integrity scores for Australia have improved once again, going up two points and shifting back into the Top Ten countries for the first time since 2016.

It is time for less “integrity washing” and more pressure on politicians

There have long been questions about the usefulness of the Corruption Perception Index and whether it’s used to essentially “integrity wash” countries that need to do better to combat corruption. Indeed, there’s been a lot of ambiguity about what the index measures and its reliability.

The index attempts to show how well nations are controlling corruption in government and the public sector. It does this by aggregating 13 independent surveys of experts and businesspeople about their perceptions of integrity in the countries they have experienced.

This year, Transparency International has warned governments not to use the results “to present a misleading image of their governance.” Certainly, in the past, New Zealand politicians have been quick to leverage the report to justify their standing and integrity. Government ministers have basked in the glory, often using the latest reports in speeches and press releases to gloat about New Zealand’s corruption-free reputation.

The New Zealand branch of Transparency International has contributed to this complacency. In recent years, when New Zealand’s results have deteriorated, they have urged the country to focus on the positive.

This rose-tinted approach is no longer credible. Just as no one accepts Tourism New Zealand’s infamous “100% Pure” environmental branding, which it used to advertise worldwide, there’s little reason to believe that the poor in New Zealand have as much influence on political outcomes as the wealthy.

Hence, even the local branch of Transparency International condemns New Zealand’s “complacency” regarding corruption. They’ve correctly shifted from cheerleading to warning that a problem needs urgent attention.

Let’s clean up lobbying

Transparency International’s top priority is the problem of unregulated lobbying in New Zealand. They’re right to draw attention to this. New Zealand has exceptionally loose controls on how wealthy individuals and entities can influence political decision-making. Although the problems of unrestrained lobbying have been apparent for years, politicians continue to delay fixing the problem.

The most recent government action on lobbying reform has been to work with lobbyists to create a toothless and absurd “voluntary code of conduct” for their industry.

Such PR-driven gestures that attempt to show progress while allowing unethical practices to continue are the best advertisement for why New Zealanders should start demanding a cleanup of an increasingly dirty political system. If not, don’t be surprised when New Zealand continues to decline in its democratic integrity.

Dr Bryce Edwards

Director of The Integrity Institute