“Global terrorism is visible and the horrors of 11 September 2001 in New York and Washington DC, and 12 October 2002 in Bali, unforgettable. Worldwide corruption, however, is as insidious and as potentially dangerous to society. The two often go hand in hand….” (from Corruption: Who Cares? by Brian Lightowler)

CORRUPTION: A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO NATIONAL SECURITY

“Global terrorism is visible and the horrors of 11 September 2001 in New York and Washington DC, and 12 October 2002 in Bali, unforgettable. Worldwide corruption, however, is as insidious and as potentially dangerous to society. The two often go hand in hand….” (from Corruption: Who Cares? by Brian Lightowler 2003)

The Chairman of Transparency International Australia, Mr Henry Bosch AO will launch a book on global and regional corruption by Brisbane-based journalist Brian Lightowler tomorrow evening in Melbourne. Also on the program is PNG development consultant Mr Jim Carlton, former Secretary General of Red Cross Australia (suicide bombers destroyed Red Cross headquarters in Baghdad earlier this week, killing 34 people).

“There has been an enormous increase in the awareness of corruption all around the world and many people who were previously unaware, or not prepared to speak out, have found their voices,” said Mr Bosch. “Last week the World Bank published a strongly worded study of corruption in Indonesia and said that it was “a significant threat to a successful political and economic transition in Indonesia”.

Also in the past week, Australian media have carried a rash of news items concerning international terrorist cells in Australia, missing exlosives and armed gangs of urban terrorists rampaging in Australian cities.

“This is a wake-up call for any Australian citizen who thought Australia was insulated from terrorism and its constant companion, organized crime,” said Mr Bosch. “Media reports about cases of corruption are vastly more common now than they were when Transparency International was founded in Australia in 1995.”

“The United Nations has reached agreement on a Convention on Corruption which is due to be signed in early December. But greater awareness and an increased readiness to talk about the problem are not the same as effective action, and unless we are prepared to take effective action can we really say that we care?”

“In 1998 the Australian Parliament passed strong legislation to make the bribery of foreign officials a criminal offence and in taking that action it was conforming to the recent OECD Convention Against Corruption and allaying itself with most of the leading countries of the world which were passing similar legislation. But what effect has that legislation had? There have been no prosecutions in Australia and very few anywhere else in the world,” said Mr Bosch.

“The World Bank study on Indonesia demonstrates corruption is alive and well in that country. A recent study and country report on Papua New Guinea and TI-sponsored research being conducted in many other parts of the Asia Pacific Region confirm that the readiness to accept bribes is not confined to any single country. We should also note that there are powerful people in developed countries who are prepared to pay bribes to get things done – directly or indirectly.

“Certainly there are a growing number of people who say that they care about corruption, but there are few who care enough to do something about it.”

According to Mr Carlton, corruption strikes at the heart of the concept of secure private property: “I am not talking here only about the possessions of the wealthy but also about the poorest possessions of those close to destitution - their personal artefacts, their treasured letters or mementos, their means of keeping warm.

“The sanctity of private property is that element of trust that enables everyone to act with confidence in their dealings with people, to believe that they are secure in continuing to have what they hold unless they freely relinquish possession of it, whether as a gift or in receipt of something in return, either monetary or in kind.

“It is this framework of trust that enabled the European societies to advance and become wealthy over the course of a few centuries. It relied on the application of the rule of law, under which contracts were binding, private property was sacrosanct, and no one was capable of arbitrarily acquiring what people had legitimately acquired as their private possessions.

“Over the last few centuries the same had not applied in the Asiatic or Islamic worlds, where despots could arbitrarily take over the property of individuals or private institutions.  Without such protection under the law there could have been no economic advancement in Europe, no industrial revolution, no advancement to the stable form of society we know today, said Mr Carlton.

“In the developing world, in which I have had some experience in my former role as Secretary General of the Australian Red Cross, and now in my work in assisting development in Papua New Guinea, I can see the utterly destructive effect it has on the lives of ordinary citizens.”

Brian Lightowler asserts that the lack of will on the part of both governments and the people to confront corruption in themselves and to deal with it explains the rising incidence of corruption in society. He says that there is mounting evidence that the motivation to confront corruption is now beginning to stir.

For further information, contact Dr Barbara-Ann Butler, Director of Public Affairs, TI Australia, (07) 3374 1151, 0412 494 634; CEO Grahame Leonard (03) 9527 4595; Brian Lightowler; Jim Carlton; Henry Bosch