THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION: THE ROLE FOR PARLIAMENT
“Academic research has demonstrated that high levels of corruption are damaging to economic growth irrespective of the type of government – be it an authoritarian one-party state, or a liberal democracy.”
home addresses and business ownerships of judges confidential given they could be the targets of threats from the criminals they convict. On the other hand, it was important that a disclosure regime was put in place to prevent conflicts of interest – e.g. judges ruling in cases where they might have a commercial interest.
Ultimately, we settled on a regime where the interests are disclosed to the chief judge of each bench to then decide where recusal is necessary, rather than creating a public register of interests of the kind we have for Members of Parliament. This still leaves open the question of to whom the Chief Justice herself should disclose interests. This is an area which I have no doubts the New Zealand Parliament will re-open in the future as requiring further fine-tuning. Whilst the revision of
judicature legislation may seem arcane, it was certainly a factor that contributed positively to New Zealand’s overall score on the Corruption Perceptions Index. The message that I have taken from the overall index rating, where New Zealand’s score fell by three points last year, is the importance of Parliamentarians keeping up the good work to ensure transparency and public accountability remain strong across the entire system of government.
More than just a moral value Academic research has demonstrated that high levels of corruption are damaging to economic growth irrespective of the type of government – be it an authoritarian one-party state, or a liberal democracy. We in Commonwealth countries are fortunate to have inherited a tradition of more democratic and more transparent government than many of the alternative systems which can be seen around the world. Corruption – the abuse of public office for private gain – can form as much of a brake on the economic motors of developing economies as state subsidies to inefficient industries, unsustainable environmental practices or trade protectionism. Obsolete legislation requires updating, and attitudes have to shift in a concerted effort to oppose corruption, not simply because it is morally wrong. Reduced corruption levels pay material economic dividends. Gains come in the form of better credit ratings from
international agencies, therefore lower debt servicing costs for governments and better mortgage rates for the citizens. Aid donors are more likely to support projects in a country which they perceive as less corrupt. Foreign direct investment, which creates jobs and valuable tax revenues for public infrastructure and social services, seeks out financially sound environments free of corrupt practices. And businesses generally operate more effectively in an environment where they can invest a greater proportion of their revenues into capital equipment, research and development, and higher salaries for skilled staff rather than paying bribes and back-handers. It is paramount that we all work hard across the Commonwealth to place the public good ahead of individual greed and stamp out corrupt practices. Parliamentarians have a major part to play in this work.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) produces a number of toolkits and booklets for Parliamentarians and Parliamentary staff including the Recommended Benchmarks for Codes of Conduct for Members of Parliament.
Please contact
hq.sec@
cpahq.org for further information or visit
www.cpahq.org to download a copy.
The Parliamentarian | 2016: Issue One | 63
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
