The Government has announced it will pilot a cross-agency Anti-Corruption Taskforce in a bid to better protect public funds and uphold integrity across the state sector.
The taskforce will be led by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), supported by NZ Police and the Public Service Commission, and bring together counter fraud and enforcement expertise to identify and combat corruption and fraud risks faced by the public sector.
“The taskforce’s work will build a clearer intelligence picture of the threats that face our public sector. This is about taking proactive action to ensure our prevention and response system remains resilient and fit for purpose,” said Police Minister, Mark Mitchell.
“The public sector accounts for a third of the economy and the pilot is a critical step in protecting and enhancing New Zealand’s reputation as an attractive place to invest.
“Every dollar of public funding counts, and preventing the unlawful taking of taxpayer money is something we take very seriously.”
Public Service Minister, Judith Collins said the taskforce supports the Government’s broader public integrity agenda.
“New Zealand is widely respected as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, and we intend to keep it that way,” Ms Collins says.
“By increasing transparency, identifying risks and encouraging ethical conduct across the public sector, this taskforce will help maintain trust in our institutions.
“Fighting corruption is not just about prosecution, it’s about leadership, accountability and promoting a culture of integrity.”
The taskforce will begin with a pilot project requiring a group of public sector agencies to assess their fraud and corruption prevention and detection systems. This will include reporting on offending detected and prevented, and the controls agencies have in place to protect public funds.
Participating agencies are the Department of Corrections, Land Information New Zealand, Inland Revenue, ACC, Ministry of Social Development and Sport New Zealand.
The pilot will inform the Government’s future approach to counter-fraud and corruption capability across the state sector, with a public report to be released following its completion.
The Anti-Corruption Taskforce follows the SFO’s launch of a national campaign to tackle Foreign Bribery and new online reporting platform for whistleblowers earlier this year.
More information about the Taskforce is available on the SFO’s website: https://www.sfo.govt.nz/fraud-and-corruption/what-we-do/anti-corruption-taskforce-pilot.
