The 2022 Transparency International Annual General Meeting and event was held on 29 November.
TINZ members and invited guests attended the affair held in the Grand Hall, Parliament House hosted by Stuart Smith MP and Deborah Russell MP Co-Chairs of the NZ Chapter of Global Organisation of Parliamentarians against Corruption.
After the welcome, the annual business of the organisation was held which included welcoming Anna Muir as a newly elected Director, re-election of Luke Qin as Director and farewell to departing Director Gillian Greer.
The 2021-2022 Transparency International New Zealand (TINZ) Annual Report was provided to members. The report highlighted that TINZ has had a positive impact on integrity in New Zealand, as we applied strategic thinking and resources to influence change, for the common good.
A fireside discussion on the contribution of Integrity practices by local government followed the formal business meeting. TINZ Director Debbie Gee hosted a panel consisting of Anne Tolley, former Cabinet Minister and Deputy Speaker and current Chair of TINZ, Peter Kelly Chief Executive of Upper Hutt City Council and TINZ Director, and Brendan Duffy ONZM, Chair of The Local Government Commission.
National Integrity System (NIS) Assessment
Ann Webster spoke to the AGM about the NIS monitoring exercise led by Liz Brown over the last two years. This had shown a little movement but not much. A TINZ team has led the planning process for a 2023 NIS, and the TINZ Board has agreed to take an approach focussing on functions rather than pillars, and to address two functions each year.
A lively NIS Soapbox game followed. Experts in different functional areas (such as fiscal accountability, civil society, business integrity and the efficient use of public resources) stood by their soap boxes, engaging with attendees and trying to convince them why their function should receive the attendee’s token votes. The four top scoring function areas were Business Integrity, Treaty of Waitangi, Independent Journalism and Corruption Prevention. This provides plenty of food for thought for 2023 planning.
Public Sector Leaders Integrity Forums
TINZ continues to facilitate peer led Leaders Integrity Forums (LIF) for public service leaders, as part of its work with the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG). The forums are becoming increasingly popular and effective in engaging public sector leaders in real world issues around transparency and integrity.
Following each event the The Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) produces a blog on each forum which is available on their website. The latest two, not previously published here:
Everyone, everywhere: On addressing the dangers of the internet (June LIF)
Fraud and corruption prevention: Getting it right (October LIF )
