Corruption Rankings Difficult to Take Seriously

25 JANUARY 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Taxpayers’ Union says the recent 227-page reasons for verdict, in the Auckland Transport corruption case, makes it difficult to accept the Amy Adam's claim that New Zealand is in the top tier in terms of corruption perception and enforcement.

Executive Director, Jordan Williams, says, “One must keep in mind that Transparency International New Zealand is a government funded outfit with its largest donor the Department of Corrections. Their ‘league table’ is based on nothing more than opinion surveys of perception.”

“No one can seriously believe that New Zealand is corruption free, or that the Government is protecting our good reputation, once they’ve read what Justice Fitzgerald had to say about Auckland Transport and the predecessor councils which formed the Super City. Her Honour took every opportunity in the judgment to note that the practice of corrupt behavior went wider than just the defendants who were brought before her by the Serious Fraud Office.”

“Reading between the lines of Justice Fitzgerald’s decision, it is very clear that we have a lot more work to do in terms of tackling corruption, at least at the local government level. It is a real shame that our Minister of Justice prefers a cheap headline than tackling the problem.”

ENDS

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