According to the Guardian, the anti-corruption group Transparency International (Transparency International) yesterday released the 2018 Global Integrity Index (CPI) ranking, although Australia has not been squeezed out of the world's cleanest 13 countries, but its corruption score remains the lowest in history. Australia has been called upon once again to "put an end to political disputes and not hesitate" to set up a strong Federal Commission against Corruption (Integrity Commission).)
Australia still ranked 13th out of 180 countries and regions in the latest ranking released yesterday afternoon, but its clean-handed scores failed to break the low point of 2017, with a stop of 77 points (a full 100 points) that did not rise. Australia's scores are slightly higher than those of Hong Kong, Iceland and Austria, but they are far behind neighbouring New Zealand. New Zealand, which ranks second in the world, is inferior to Denmark, which tops the list.
Australian Capitol
Australia's score has fallen by 8 points since the first ranking of the global corruption index. Australia has not been able to boost its anti-corruption efforts enough to reverse the decline in scores since 2014.
It is reported that the list is measured by 13 indicators of experts and business leaders' perception of the level of corruption in the participating countries, including their false public service, cronyism, bribery, embezzlement and "capture of the national (State Capture," It refers to the view that individuals or groups actively influence government decision-making by means of corruption.
The corruption index scores also reflect the strength of national and regional anti-corruption and clean government systems, such as "whether there is an appropriate law for financial disclosure, avoidance of interest conflict and access to information".
Australia's shortcomings in integrity and transparency continue to be criticized this year. Political donation information has not been disclosed in real time, with few penalties for negligence in transparency, and no consequences for violating federal lobbying rules. Australia's freedom of information system has been undermined by delays in disclosure and record-breaking rejection rates.
The release of the report once again put pressure on the federal government to establish a strong and effective national commission on integrity.
Lili White (Serena Lillywhite), chief executive of Transparency International Australia, said the formation of a well-staffed, broad-based (clean government) committee needed to be a top priority. "it's time to put an end to the political row and unhesitatingly bring the federal Congress together to create a well-resourced, nationally coordinated system of promoting integrity that focuses on preventing (corruption), and having strong investigative powers."
In the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore ranks third in the world, with the corruption index second only to Denmark and New Zealand. Mainland China ranked 87th while Hong Kong ranked 144th.
North Korea is the worst performing country in the Asia-Pacific region, with a corruption index of just 14, well below the average of 44.