At an outreach day event held at the new Australian Parliament House, TI Asia Pacific and AusAID jointly announced a new five-year partnership framework agreement aimed at scaling-up and increasing the effectiveness of the fight against corruption both at national and regional level in Asia Pacific

Cobus de Swardt, TI managing director, praised the progress the movement has made, while emphasising the need to: “Take our issue to scale and escalate the fight against corruption so as to leave no level of the government, private sector or NGO community untouched.”

The event, which was attended by more than 80 participants – including representatives from the Australian government, academia and delegates from 21 chapters in Asia Pacific, discussed anti-corruption priorities in Asia Pacific. Debates highlighted the need to strengthen public sector integrity and improve private sector governance in the context of the financial crisis, as well as mobilising citizens to play a role in supporting such anti-corruption reforms.

The event took full advantage of TI’s extensive Asia Pacific network of 21 chapters, enabling participants to learn from others’ experiences. Presentations were given by TI chapter representatives from Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, South Korea and Thailand, which showcased approaches and projects they have found successful to engaging the general public.