Category Archives: Transparency

Warnings AI tools used by government on UK public are ‘racist and biased’

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Transparency campaigners welcome government move to publish details of system algorithms

Artificial intelligence and algorithmic tools used by central government are to be published on a public register after warnings they can contain “entrenched” racism and bias.

Officials confirmed this weekend that tools challenged by campaigners over alleged secrecy and a risk of bias will be named shortly. The technology has been used for a range of purposes, from trying to detect sham marriages to rooting out fraud and error in benefit claims.

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Australia maintains corruption ranking as government urged to do more on whistleblowers

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Transparency International index positions nation at 14th, as head of group talks of reducing big money’s influence on politics and whistleblower protections

Australia’s reputation on corruption has remained steady in the latest world rankings but the Albanese government has been urged to do more to protect whistleblowers.

The annual corruption perceptions index, released by Transparency International on Tuesday, has placed Australia at 14th, maintaining its score of 75 out of 100. It uses expert views to rate countries on possible corruption in public services.

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Russian MPs vote to hide tax returns from public view

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State Duma approves law to keep members’ income tax and assets private in blow to transparency

Russia’s lower house of parliament has voted in favour of a bill that will lift the requirement for lawmakers to make public their annual income and assets reports, in a move that will significantly decrease transparency.

According to a statement on the website of the State Duma, after 1 March, publicly available information about Russian lawmakers’ income declarations will not allow for identification of them.

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Kwasi Kwarteng’s secret meetings with Saudi oil firms revealed

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Exclusive: Meetings while in Saudi Arabia undisclosed due to ‘administrative oversight’, says business department

The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, held undisclosed meetings with senior executives of Saudi Arabian firms when he was the business secretary, documents acquired by the Guardian show.

The meetings occurred in January, when Kwarteng visited the kingdom for a two-day trip under his previous ministerial role.

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Anthony Albanese backflips on national cabinet secrecy and refuses to say why

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PM opts to continue to prevent release of documents related to meetings with state leaders despite his previous criticism of the practice

Anthony Albanese has backflipped on national cabinet secrecy, opting to continue to prevent the release of documents related to meetings of the prime minister and state and territory leaders, despite strident criticism of the practice in opposition.

At a press conference after his first national cabinet meeting as prime minister, Albanese confirmed the commonwealth had not proposed ending the practice, despite his accusation that Scott Morrison was “obsessed with secrecy”. Albanese refused to answer questions about why he had backflipped on the matter.

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Governments around the world used Covid to erode human rights – report

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Transparency International ranking reveals decade of standstill on tackling corruption, with many countries reaching historic lows in 2021

The global fight against corruption has been at a standstill for a decade, with 86% of countries either worsening or making no progress in tackling the problem, and with numerous governments accused of using the pandemic to erode human rights and democracy, a report has found.

Transparency International’s annual corruption ranking, published on Tuesday, also found countries that violate civil liberties consistently have low scores, underlining how failure to tackle corruption exacerbates human rights abuses and undermines democracy.

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EU states ‘dragging their feet’ over financial transparency, report finds

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Global Witness says only six states including UK meet demands on measures to fight money-laundering

Most EU member states have failed to meet a legal deadline to introduce public registers of the real owners of companies, a transparency measure seen as key to fighting money laundering, according to a review by anti-corruption campaigners.

In May 2018, the European Union passed a directive obliging member states to publish the beneficial owners of firms registered in their jurisdictions by January this year.

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Transparency International staff complain of bullying and harassment

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Corruption watchdog accused of promoting ‘toxic’ workplace culture that silenced critical voices

Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International has been accused of promoting a “toxic” internal environment of bullying and harassment, making it the latest high-profile charity to come under fire over its workplace culture.

Seven current and former staff members said the organisation had “failed in its duty of care” to staff. They accused managing director Patricia Moreira of promoting a culture that enabled “bullying”, silenced critical voices, and used “gagging orders” – confidentiality clauses in termination agreements. Leaked internal emails and documents including a staff survey corroborate their accounts.

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Andrew Mitchell and Justine Greening back calls for foreign loan transparency

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Former international development secretaries among 50 British MPs urging introduction of tighter regulations on disclosure

Three former international development secretaries are among 50 British MPs urging the British chancellor to take “strong action” to increase transparency on loans to governments, in advance of next month’s G20 meeting.

Citing the alleged involvement of UK-based companies in secret loans to Mozambique, Andrew Mitchell, Justine Greening and Hilary Benn joined parliamentarians from every party in calling for regulations to ensure loans to governments are publicly disclosed.

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Major parties will pay at election for ignoring voters on corruption – senator

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Independent Tim Storer warns voter confidence in politics is at ‘all-time low’ as he wins crossbench support for transparency charter

Senator Tim Storer says the major parties were “protecting their own skins” when they opposed a dramatic overhaul of anti-corruption measures proposed by a for-once united crossbench, including One Nation and Greens senators.

On Wednesday, 18 crossbenchers backed Storer’s “transparency charter”, which called for real-time disclosure of donations, a strong and well-resourced integrity commission, codes of conduct for MPs, reforms of freedom of information laws, stronger whistleblower protections, and changes to lobbyist rules.

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