SSC welcomes latest international corruption findings

4 October 2007

The State Services Commissioner, Mark Prebble, today welcomed the news that New Zealand had again taken equal first place in the global survey of perceptions of corruption in the public sector.

The 2007 report from Transparency International, the Corruptions Perceptions Index, shows New Zealand sharing the top spot with Finland and Denmark. The index scores 180 countries on a scale from zero to ten, with zero indicating high levels of perceived corruption and ten indicating low levels. New Zealand, Finland and Denmark scored 9.4.

"While it is gratifying to see New Zealand's public sector rate so highly in terms of perceived freedom from corrupt practices, we need to remember that New Zealanders would expect nothing less.

"We can be proud to be ranked as the best in the world according to Transparency International's standards, but what is more important is that we continue to meet our own standards," Mark Prebble said.

An amendment to the State Sector Act in 2004 extended the State Services Commissioner's mandate for setting standards of integrity and conduct to include many Crown entities alongside the Public Service Departments.

To reflect this extended mandate, in June this year the State Services Commissioner launched a new coded of conduct, the Standards of Integrity and Conduct, which comes into effect on November 30th.

"A major aim for the code is to encourage good behaviour and to strengthen the high level of trust that is reflected in these international surveys. We can't afford to be complacent. It will also take ongoing efforts in training and leadership to meet New Zealanders high standards," Mark Prebble said.

Transparency International's 2006 report ranked NZ as equal first with Iceland and Finland. Also in 2006, Gallup launched a Worldwide Corruption Index, a poll ranking 101 countries according to perceptions of corruption in business and government. New Zealand ranked equal second with Denmark, behind Finland.

The Standards of Integrity and Conduct can be found on the SSC website: http://www.ssc.govt.nz/code

ENDS

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