Hon Clare Curran

Associate Minister of State Services

22 February, 2018
Continued effort needed against corruption

New Zealand has been rated the least corrupt country for the third year in a row but Open Government Minister Clare Curran warns there’s still more work to be done.

“The latest Corruption Perceptions Index, released this morning by Transparency International, has New Zealand’s public sector edging out 175 other countries to take the top spot in this year’s results,” Ms Curran says.

“With a rating of 89 out of 100, we continue to show the high standards of conduct and integrity we hold ourselves to across the public sector when compared to other countries around the world.

“New Zealand has pulled away from Denmark to hold the top position on our own this year, compared to previous years where we have shared the number one ranking.”

“While we continue to hold the position of least corrupt country, and already have high standards of conduct and integrity, we must not be complacent. These results show we are not immune to behaviour and actions that can erode the great work done by the majority of people in the public sector.

“Our focus must be on building and maintaining the public’s trust in the integrity of the public sector, a key enabler in our ability to do better for New Zealand and New Zealanders. I expect a continued commitment to transparency and the highest levels of integrity,” Ms Curran says.

“This government is also committed to reviewing and improving our access to information frameworks and is currently initiating work on human rights in the digital environment.

“Our commitment to open government plays an important role in New Zealand’s democratic system, underpinning the public’s respect, trust, and confidence in the integrity of government.

“These and previous results show that countries who rank as the least corrupt generally have higher levels of media freedom, greater access to official information (particularly on public expenditure), and higher standards of conduct and integrity for public officials,” Ms Curran says.

The full list of countries is available on the Transparency International’s website here:https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2017

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