24 September 2008

New Zealand public service tops world index

New Zealand's public service has received yet another vote of confidence, being rated first equal in the world for the third year in a row, for the lack of corruption in its public service, State Services Minister David Parker said today.

Transparency International's Corruptions Perceptions Index scores 180 countries on a scale from zero to ten, with zero indicating high levels of corruption and ten indicating low levels . New Zealand gained a score of 9.3 out of ten, first equal with Denmark and Sweden, and compared to 8.7 for Australia, 7.7 for the United Kingdom and 7.3 for the United States.

"I applaud our public servants for being amongst the most honest in the world, and this is something we should not take for granted," David Parker said.

"As this study by Transparency International unfortunately shows, many other countries suffer from debilitating corruption, which blights their economies, hampers investment and destroys trust in the democratic process."

Another study a fortnight ago by the World Bank found New Zealand is ranked second in the world for ease of doing business.

"These studies confirm that New Zealand is an attractive place to do business, not only for the simplicity of our regulatory environment, but also because we offer the reassurance of a public service with integrity," David Parker said.

"This good result does not mean we can be complacent however. We must take tough and decisive action to deal with isolated cases of corruption when they do occur.

"Labour continues to support a strong, effective and trusted public service and refuses to use 'bureaucrats' as a punching bag when it comes to an election year," David Parker said.

For the full report by Transparency International, see link:

ENDS

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