Australia has slipped in the world corruption perception rankings for the third straight year and out of the world’s top 10 for the first time, damaged by the absence of a federal anti-corruption agency.
Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index ranks countries from zero (very corrupt) to 100 (very clean) on perceptions of public sector corruption.
Australia scored 80 points for 2014, down from 81 in 2013, and 85 in 2012. It is now ranked 11, down four spots in two years.
Denmark topped the list with a score of 92, while North Korea and Somalia tied for last, on eight.
More than two-thirds of 175 countries ranked scored below 50, including the world’s largest emerging economy, China, which was down four points to 36 in 2014, despite a government-run anti-corruption campaign.
Transparency International’s Australia Director, Professor AJ Brown, said Australia needed to realise that government corruption was not just an issue for the developing world, “it is a problem right here in Australia”.
“A stronger national anti-corruption agency is needed, as one element of an overhauled strategy to deal with proven and emergent corruption risks, beyond the criminal investigation system.”
Brown told Guardian Australia that massive corruption scandals involving government-run companies, such as the Australian Wheat Board and Securency, had damaged confidence that Australian officials were not involved in foreign bribery or other corrupt behaviour.
But the state-based anti-corruption models – like NSW’s Icac which has exposed widespread and systematic corruption on both side of politics in that state – were “quite inconsistent and piecemeal” in their effectiveness, Brown said. A federal body would need a greater suite of powers.
“New revelations of links between some unions and organised crime add to concerns about the real capacity of federal and state governments to keep on top of corruption, such as revealed at the Australian Wheat Board, the Reserve Bank companies, customs and other agencies long presumed to be above reproach.
“Ongoing questions about weaknesses in Australia’s inconsistent political donation and disclosure regimes only compound the need for stronger independent federal leadership, coordination and oversight.”
