1 December 2011

Survey confirms New Zealand’s public service as least corrupt in world

A survey ranking New Zealand’s public services as the least corrupt in the world has been welcomed by the Public Service Association, the public sector union.

The survey findings were released today by Transparency International. The annual Corruption Perceptions Index scores countries on a scale from 10 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). New Zealand’s public services received a score of 9.5.

“This announcement comes as no surprise to our hard-working members. We know that the continued public service ethos - the willingness to go the extra mile - is a great asset which helps put New Zealand in the top echelon of government integrity and effectiveness internationally,” says PSA National Secretary Brenda Pilott.

New Zealand also ranks highly on the OECD measure of government effectiveness and while these accolade are great for New Zealand’s public services there are also tangible benefits for the New Zealand economy.

“Anyone wanting to do business in New Zealand can see these results and decide to build, invest and trade here without needing to factor in back-handers to officials to get the job done,” says Brenda Pilott.

Although New Zealand scored highly, the PSA believes that continued support needs to be given to public services if the government wants the country to remain top of the table.

“Having a world class corruption-free public service requires people who are committed to unique roles, and you keep those people by making sure that they are highly trained, paid well, and valued,” says Brenda.

ENDS

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