Global Corruption Index Reports Disappointing Results for Australia

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 8^th 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