Abstract

 Transparency International considers New Zealand the least corrupt country in the world. Yet ranking systems can flatter to deceive. This article takes a critical stance towards their global classification, which is a perceptions-based measure that ignores the private sector. In so doing, it heeds David Beetham’s (2015) call for a broader definition of corruption, one that acknowledges the subjugation of the public sphere to secure private advantage. Jane Kelsey (2015: 11, 150) has noted that New Zealand is ‘at the pure end of the neoliberal spectrum’, being ‘first to liberalise, last to regulate’. These points are examined with particular reference to corruption, the construction industry and the country’s numerous housing problems. The opening section of How Corrupt is Britain?, in which Beetham’s work appears, is titled ‘Neoliberalism and Corruption’. This article questions the need for the conjunction.
Highlights
New Zealand has reclaimed its ranking as the least corrupt country in the world in an international survey. (Davison 2017)We are the least corrupt country on the planet according to the world’s most prominent measurement: Transparency International’s (TI) 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) (Transparency International New Zealand 2017)
If we look beyond the limited range which TI measures, a different picture emerges
A TV3 documentary suggested that building costs per house are 30 per cent higher in New Zealand than they are in Australia, and 60 per cent higher than the United States, on account of the higher prices for building materials
Summary
New Zealand has reclaimed its ranking as the least corrupt country in the world in an international survey. (Davison 2017)We are the least corrupt country on the planet according to the world’s most prominent measurement: Transparency International’s (TI) 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) (Transparency International New Zealand 2017). Keywords Construction industry; corruption; leaky buildings scandal; neoliberalism; New Zealand.
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