NZ tops global transparency rating for Defence and security sector

Overall, New Zealand achieved a score of 85, putting it at the top of international rankings.  The report found that agencies have very robust institutional resilience to corruption.

The five-yearly GDI measures political integrity, finance, personnel, operations-controls in the field and procurement across 86 different countries. This is the second time that New Zealand has received the highest rating. 

The results showed the integrity and transparency that exists within the New Zealand defence and security sector, and the strong systems and processes that are in place to address the risk of corruption, said Chief of Defence Force, Air Marshal Kevin Short.

Transparency International suggests improvements could be made to the level of regulation around political lobbying, corruption monitoring in operations and anti-collusion controls in contracting.

“It is important that defence and security institutions have a strong reputation as being ethical and professional. We are pleased to be at the top of the international rankings and will look for opportunities to improve for future assessments,” said Secretary of Defence Andrew Bridgman. 

The Transparency International assessment was released yesterday.