4 Nov 2015

Government passes anti-corruption bill

9:58 pm on 4 November 2015

A new bill the government says will protect New Zealand from corruption and bribery has been passed by Parliament tonight.

The Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill seeks to strengthen the laws on illegal activities such as identity theft, money laundering, bribery and drug-related crime.

Justice Minister Amy Adams says the bill will protect the economy from organised crime.

She says it will also enable authorities to work more closely with their international counterparts in responding to trans-national crimes.

One of the controversial aspects of the bill is that it allows New Zealanders to make facilitation payments to foreign officials - something the Labour and Green parties say is akin to bribery.