On 4 December TI New Zealand facilitated a webinar featuring Virginia Comolli from Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime, Det Sup Wayne Gray from the NZ Police and Matt Fehon from McGarth Nicol in Australia. Click "Find Out More" for a webinar recap and recording.

Transparency International (global) is advocating in three key areas of importance for New Zealand at the biennial meeting of UNCAC state parties being held in Atlanta this week.

Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier reported in October on his investigation into workshop and meeting open-information practices of eight local government authorities. He saw no evidence of inappropriately made decisions, but he did see practices counter to the principles of openness.

The 2022-2023 Transparency International New Zealand (TINZ) Annual Report was provided to members at the Annual General Meeting on 28th of November. TINZ helps New Zealand to be more resilient to corruption and better able to disrupt it. We do this by being both a watchdog and a promoter of ethical behaviour and transparency. Both roles are essential to a thriving democracy.

Brendon Wilson was awarded Lifetime Membership of Transparency International New Zealand at the AGM in late November. During his time on the Board Brendon’s contribution has been deep and sustained.

Transparency International New Zealand AGM was held in person and online on 28 November. Highlights included the election of new directors, presentation of the annual report and a presentation by Jon Duffy, Chief Executive, Consumer NZ followed by an interesting discussion.

TINZ Financial Performance Report for 2022-2023 excerpted from the Annual Report

In May 2022 Transparency International New Zealand released a report about our investigation of corruption and money laundering within Pacific Island Countries (PICs). TINZ has produced summaries of the analysis for each of the countries covered.

Forensic investigators perform a critical role in corporate investigations. Looking beyond the question of ‘who did what’, a forensic investigator can work out how a fraud occurred and perhaps more importantly, how to stop it happening again.

New Zealand’s historical dominance of the Corruption Perceptions Index may be slipping based on the last survey. Although it retained equal second, its ranking fell and recent events may indicate a continued downward trend.

This week’s release of the 2023 Global Organized Crime Index 2023 by Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime highlights that while countries are putting systems in place to resist organised crime, their efforts are not keeping pace with emerging threats.