Law reform urged in report on political corruption in New Zealand News
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Law reform urged in report on political corruption in New Zealand

A report on corruption in New Zealand released on Sunday questioned the transparency of the nation’s political system, recommending proactive changes to lobbying regulation, political donations and legislation governing public access to official information.

In light of New Zealand’s downward trend in rankings such as the Corruption Perceptions Index, “Shining a Light” has outlined 26 policy recommendations to restore confidence in the public sector’s integrity and lessen the risk of influence by wealthy individuals and business actors.

The report endorses Health Coalition Aotearoa’s recommendations in their May 2024 publication on lobbying regulation, including the creation of a public register to document the interactions of lobbyists with public officials and a three-year stand-down period for former officials to lobby in areas they had past involvement.

Capping the amount donors can contribute to political parties per electoral cycle to $30,000 NZD and lowering the public disclosure threshold for donors—changes proposed in the government-initiated Independent Electoral Review— were also supported.

Of considerable attention in the report was the Official Information Act 1982, which regulates public access to information from government bodies in New Zealand. Alongside adopting reforms suggested by the Law Commission to improve guidance around requesting information, the report also recommended inserting penalty provisions for acting contrary to the legislation—similar to laws in Australia like Part 6 Division 2 of New South Wales’s Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.

The addition of an offence of failure to prevent bribery was also proposed to deter foreign bribery by New Zealand companies as were requirements for publication of beneficial ownership of corporate entities.

The report was commissioned by The Helen Clark Foundation, a public policy think-tank founded by the eponymous former New Zealand Prime Minister. Previous policy research of the foundation has included work on climate change, infrastructure development and transport.

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