Global Corruption Index Reports Disappointing Results for Australia

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Stop corruption

By Blake O’Connor and Ugur Nedim

This week, Transparency International released its annual ‘Global Corruption Index’ which suggests that Australia has failed to improve on transparency and accountability, ranking at 13th place for the second year running, down from 8th in 2012.

The annual index ranks countries based on their perceived levels of corruption. This year, New Zealand and Denmark were awarded the top spots whilst North Korea, South Sudan and Somalia, South-Sudan occupy the bottom three places.

Transparency board member AJ Brown has expressed concerns for Australia:

“We have every reason to be concerned that next year, unless we start to take some concrete steps to build international confidence, then this may just have been a little step on a continued way down”.

Broader Results

Not surprisingly, Transparency International found a significant link between corruption and inequality, “which feed off each other to create a vicious circle between corruption, unequal distribution of power in society, and unequal distribution of wealth.”

It found that the lower-ranked countries:

“… are plagued by untrustworthy and badly functioning public institutions like the police and judiciary”.

“Even where anti-corruption laws are on the books, in practice they’re often skirted or ignored”.

“People frequently face situations of bribery and extortion, rely on basic services that have been undermined by the misappropriation of funds, and confront official indifference when seeking redress from authorities that are on the take”.

Higher-ranked countries had “… greater press freedom, access to information about public expenditure, stronger standards of integrity for public officials, and independent judicial systems”.

Australia

Australia’s failure to introduce a federal corruption watchdog and protect whistleblowers, and our introduction of hundreds of laws which remove legal safeguards and protections have been identified as key reasons for our recent fall in the rankings.

The Prime Minister has dismissed the need of a federal corruption watchdog, despite an overwhelming majority of the public supporting the idea.

Sections 70 and 79 of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) make it a criminal offence to expose corruption and abuses in government agencies, and the criminalisation of whistleblowers was significantly expanded by the passing of the Border Force Act 2015 (Cth). Hundreds of doctors protested against these new laws, vowing to stay committed exposing abuses against clients held in off-shore immigration detention centres.

Australian Medical Association President Brian Owler expressed deep dissatisfaction with section 42 of the Border Force Act, which:

“… puts most doctors in these circumstances in a very difficult situation if they have to face two years imprisonment for speaking out, or be quiet and let people suffer. That’s not appropriate.”

And new metadata retention laws have been used to target journalists who expose abuses in government, and to pursue and prosecute their confidential sources.

These are just a few of many laws which help keep a lid on government corruption, adding to hundreds of laws which remove legal safeguards and protections, thereby allowing state agents such as police to commit abuses with impunity. For example since late 2014, ASIO officers have enjoyed immunity from both civil and criminal prosecution for acts carried out in the course of “special intelligence operations.” Officers now enjoy immunity even if they carry out raids on the innocent and commit acts of brutality.

It seems our government is increasingly intent on removing transparency, accountability and our civil rights.

The Index

This year’s index ranks countries as follows:
1 Denmark 90 91 92 91 90 Europe and Central Asia
1 New Zealand 90 88 91 91 90 Asia Pacific
3 Finland 89 90 89 89 90 Europe and Central Asia
4 Sweden 88 89 87 89 88 Europe and Central Asia
5 Switzerland 86 86 86 85 86 Europe and Central Asia
6 Norway 85 87 86 86 85 Europe and Central Asia
7 Singapore 84 85 84 86 87 Asia Pacific
8 Netherlands 83 87 83 83 84 Europe and Central Asia
9 Canada 82 83 81 81 84 Americas
10 Germany 81 81 79 78 79 Europe and Central Asia
10 Luxembourg 81 81 82 80 80 Europe and Central Asia
10 United Kingdom 81 81 78 76 74 Europe and Central Asia
13 Australia 79 79 80 81 85 Asia Pacific
14 Iceland 78 79 79 78 82 Europe and Central Asia
15 Belgium 77 77 76 75 75 Europe and Central Asia
15 Hong Kong 77 75 74 75 77 Asia Pacific
17 Austria 75 76 72 69 69 Europe and Central Asia
18 United States 74 76 74 73 73 Americas
19 Ireland 73 75 74 72 69 Europe and Central Asia
20 Japan 72 75 76 74 74 Asia Pacific
21 Uruguay 71 74 73 73 72 Americas
22 Estonia 70 70 69 68 64 Europe and Central Asia
23 France 69 70 69 71 71 Europe and Central Asia
24 Bahamas 66 N/A 71 71 71 Americas
24 Chile 66 70 73 71 72 Americas
24 United Arab Emirates 66 70 70 69 68 Middle East and North Africa
27 Bhutan 65 65 65 63 63 Asia Pacific
28 Israel 64 61 60 61 60 Middle East and North Africa
29 Poland 62 62 61 60 58 Europe and Central Asia
29 Portugal 62 63 63 62 63 Europe and Central Asia
31 Barbados 61 N/A 74 75 76 Americas
31 Qatar 61 71 69 68 68 Middle East and North Africa
31 Slovenia 61 60 58 57 61 Europe and Central Asia
31 Taiwan 61 62 61 61 61 Asia Pacific
35 Botswana 60 63 63 64 65 Sub Saharan Africa
35 Saint Lucia 60 N/A N/A 71 71 Americas
35 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 60 N/A 67 62 62 Americas
38 Cape Verde 59 55 57 58 60 Sub Saharan Africa
38 Dominica 59 N/A 58 58 58 Americas
38 Lithuania 59 61 58 57 54 Europe and Central Asia
41 Brunei 58 N/A N/A 60 55 Asia Pacific
41 Costa Rica 58 55 54 53 54 Americas
41 Spain 58 58 60 59 65 Europe and Central Asia
44 Georgia 57 52 52 49 52 Europe and Central Asia
44 Latvia 57 55 55 53 49 Europe and Central Asia
46 Grenada 56 N/A N/A N/A N/A Americas
47 Cyprus 55 61 63 63 66 Europe and Central Asia
47 Czech Republic 55 56 51 48 49 Europe and Central Asia
47 Malta 55 56 55 56 57 Europe and Central Asia
50 Mauritius 54 53 54 52 57 Sub Saharan Africa
50 Rwanda 54 54 49 53 53 Sub Saharan Africa
52 Korea (South) 53 56 55 55 56 Asia Pacific
53 Namibia 52 53 49 48 48 Sub Saharan Africa
54 Slovakia 51 51 50 47 46 Europe and Central Asia
55 Croatia 49 51 48 48 46 Europe and Central Asia
55 Malaysia 49 50 52 50 49 Asia Pacific
57 Hungary 48 51 54 54 55 Europe and Central Asia
57 Jordan 48 53 49 45 48 Middle East and North Africa
57 Romania 48 46 43 43 44 Europe and Central Asia
60 Cuba 47 47 46 46 48 Americas
60 Italy 47 44 43 43 42 Europe and Central Asia
62 Sao Tome and Principe 46 42 42 42 42 Sub Saharan Africa
62 Saudi Arabia 46 52 49 46 44 Middle East and North Africa
64 Montenegro 45 44 42 44 41 Europe and Central Asia
64 Oman 45 45 45 47 47 Middle East and North Africa
64 Senegal 45 44 43 41 36 Sub Saharan Africa
64 South Africa 45 44 44 42 43 Sub Saharan Africa
64 Suriname 45 36 36 36 37 Americas
69 Greece 44 46 43 40 36 Europe and Central Asia
70 Bahrain 43 51 49 48 51 Middle East and North Africa
70 Ghana 43 47 48 46 45 Sub Saharan Africa
72 Burkina Faso 42 38 38 38 38 Sub Saharan Africa
72 Serbia 42 40 41 42 39 Europe and Central Asia
72 Solomon Islands 42 N/A N/A N/A N/A Asia Pacific
75 Bulgaria 41 41 43 41 41 Europe and Central Asia
75 Kuwait 41 49 44 43 44 Middle East and North Africa
75 Tunisia 41 38 40 41 41 Middle East and North Africa
75 Turkey 41 42 45 50 49 Europe and Central Asia
79 Belarus 40 32 31 29 31 Europe and Central Asia
79 Brazil 40 38 43 42 43 Americas
79 China 40 37 36 40 39 Asia Pacific
79 India 40 38 38 36 36 Asia Pacific
83 Albania 39 36 33 31 33 Europe and Central Asia
83 Bosnia and Herzegovina 39 38 39 42 42 Europe and Central Asia
83 Jamaica 39 41 38 38 38 Americas
83 Lesotho 39 44 49 49 45 Sub Saharan Africa
87 Mongolia 38 39 39 38 36 Asia Pacific
87 Panama 38 39 37 35 38 Americas
87 Zambia 38 38 38 38 37 Sub Saharan Africa
90 Colombia 37 37 37 36 36 Americas
90 Indonesia 37 36 34 32 32 Asia Pacific
90 Liberia 37 37 37 38 41 Sub Saharan Africa
90 Morocco 37 36 39 37 37 Middle East and North Africa
90 The FYR of Macedonia 37 42 45 44 43 Europe and Central Asia
95 Argentina 36 32 34 34 35 Americas
95 Benin 36 37 39 36 36 Sub Saharan Africa
95 El Salvador 36 39 39 38 38 Americas
95 Kosovo 36 33 33 33 34 Europe and Central Asia
95 Maldives 36 N/A N/A N/A N/A Asia Pacific
95 Sri Lanka 36 37 38 37 40 Asia Pacific
101 Gabon 35 34 37 34 35 Sub Saharan Africa
101 Niger 35 34 35 34 33 Sub Saharan Africa
101 Peru 35 36 38 38 38 Americas
101 Philippines 35 35 38 36 34 Asia Pacific
101 Thailand 35 38 38 35 37 Asia Pacific
101 Timor-Leste 35 28 28 30 33 Asia Pacific
101 Trinidad and Tobago 35 39 38 38 39 Americas
108 Algeria 34 36 36 36 34 Middle East and North Africa
108 Côte d´Ivoire 34 32 32 27 29 Sub Saharan Africa
108 Egypt 34 36 37 32 32 Middle East and North Africa
108 Ethiopia 34 33 33 33 33 Sub Saharan Africa
108 Guyana 34 29 30 27 28 Americas
113 Armenia 33 35 37 36 34 Europe and Central Asia
113 Bolivia 33 34 35 34 34 Americas
113 Vietnam 33 31 31 31 31 Asia Pacific
116 Mali 32 35 32 28 34 Sub Saharan Africa
116 Pakistan 32 30 29 28 27 Asia Pacific
116 Tanzania 32 30 31 33 35 Sub Saharan Africa
116 Togo 32 32 29 29 30 Sub Saharan Africa
120 Dominican Republic 31 33 32 29 32 Americas
120 Ecuador 31 32 33 35 32 Americas
120 Malawi 31 31 33 37 37 Sub Saharan Africa
123 Azerbaijan 30 29 29 28 27 Europe and Central Asia
123 Djibouti 30 34 34 36 36 Sub Saharan Africa
123 Honduras 30 31 29 26 28 Americas
123 Laos 30 25 25 26 21 Asia Pacific
123 Mexico 30 35 35 34 34 Americas
123 Moldova 30 33 35 35 36 Europe and Central Asia
123 Paraguay 30 27 24 24 25 Americas
123 Sierra Leone 30 29 31 30 31 Sub Saharan Africa
131 Iran 29 27 27 25 28 Middle East and North Africa
131 Kazakhstan 29 28 29 26 28 Europe and Central Asia
131 Nepal 29 27 29 31 27 Asia Pacific
131 Russia 29 29 27 28 28 Europe and Central Asia
131 Ukraine 29 27 26 25 26 Europe and Central Asia
136 Guatemala 28 28 32 29 33 Americas
136 Kyrgyzstan 28 28 27 24 24 Europe and Central Asia
136 Lebanon 28 28 27 28 30 Middle East and North Africa
136 Myanmar 28 22 21 21 15 Asia Pacific
136 Nigeria 28 26 27 25 27 Sub Saharan Africa
136 Papua New Guinea 28 25 25 25 25 Asia Pacific
142 Guinea 27 25 25 24 24 Sub Saharan Africa
142 Mauritania 27 31 30 30 31 Middle East and North Africa
142 Mozambique 27 31 31 30 31 Sub Saharan Africa
145 Bangladesh 26 25 25 27 26 Asia Pacific
145 Cameroon 26 27 27 25 26 Sub Saharan Africa
145 Gambia 26 28 29 28 34 Sub Saharan Africa
145 Kenya 26 25 25 27 27 Sub Saharan Africa
145 Madagascar 26 28 28 28 32 Sub Saharan Africa
145 Nicaragua 26 27 28 28 29 Americas
151 Tajikistan 25 26 23 22 22 Europe and Central Asia
151 Uganda 25 25 26 26 29 Sub Saharan Africa
153 Comoros 24 26 26 28 28 Sub Saharan Africa
154 Turkmenistan 22 18 17 17 17 Europe and Central Asia
154 Zimbabwe 22 21 21 21 20 Sub Saharan Africa
156 Cambodia 21 21 21 20 22 Asia Pacific
156 Democratic Republic of Congo 21 22 22 22 21 Sub Saharan Africa
156 Uzbekistan 21 19 18 17 17 Europe and Central Asia
159 Burundi 20 21 20 21 19 Sub Saharan Africa
159 Central African Republic 20 24 24 25 26 Sub Saharan Africa
159 Chad 20 22 22 19 19 Sub Saharan Africa
159 Haiti 20 17 19 19 19 Americas
159 Republic of Congo 20 23 23 22 26 Sub Saharan Africa
164 Angola 18 15 19 23 22 Sub Saharan Africa
164 Eritrea 18 18 18 20 25 Sub Saharan Africa
166 Iraq 17 16 16 16 18 Middle East and North Africa
166 Venezuela 17 17 19 20 19 Americas
168 Guinea-Bissau 16 17 19 19 25 Sub Saharan Africa
169 Afghanistan 15 11 12 8 8 Asia Pacific
170 Libya 14 16 18 15 21 Middle East and North Africa
170 Sudan 14 12 11 11 13 Middle East and North Africa
170 Yemen 14 18 19 18 23 Middle East and North Africa
173 Syria 13 18 20 17 26 Middle East and North Africa
174 Korea (North) 12 8 8 8 8 Asia Pacific
175 South Sudan 11 15 15 14 N/A Sub Saharan Africa
176 Somalia 10 8 8 8 8 Sub Saharan Africa

 

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