New Zealand – the least corrupt country in the world
According to Transparency International New Zealand, Denmark and Singapore share the honour of having the lowest Corruption Perception Indexes. That sounds pretty good but it does raise the question “is perception reality?”
A few years ago, not having had much experience dealing with government officials, I had little “perception” of corruption in New Zealand. Now that I have had the experience of helping someone try and get justice in New Zealand I find the rating hard to believe… well… I think the rating is fiction. I’ll explain more in future posts (it’s complicated) but we have been trying to get justice for four and a half years and have dealt with many government departments and dozens of government officials – so far we are the only ones involved following the law.
Americans consider America to be “A nation of laws, not men” it’s not true of New Zealand because you can not make the officials follow the law. Our officials have authority without accountability. Those that should be our servants presume to be our masters.
While bribes may be uncommon, sadly, my experience tells me corruption in New Zealand is systemic.
Posted on July 15, 2011, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
Will be interested to hear more.
Welcome to the blogosphere.
If you are wanting anonymity you might want to do something about your avatar (hint: try hovering the mouse over your avatar.)
Found your site after reading tribeless.
“Our officials have authority without accountability.” Absolutely
“…my experience tells me corruption in New Zealand is systemic.” You are onto it.
My experience with OAG, Ombudsmen etc, is one of absolute frustration!
The laws of our land protect the likes of CEO’s of Councils. Why? IMHO those agencies are able to pass the buck from one to the other. They are set up a bit like a Commission of enquiry where its terms of reference are so restrictive that there can be no meaningful outcome.
Good luck with your endeavours
It sound like you have a story to tell.
If you want to you can tell your story on this blog.