Political Risk:
Very Low
Score:
85/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
100/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy. Under the Constitution Act 1986, power of government is distributed across three branches: the Legislature (The House of…
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Parliament regularly scrutinises defence and security matters in the House. In practice, Parliament would seldom veto a defence decision by majority vote, since the…
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There is no evidence that the Executive or the Military coerce or unduly influence Parliament to vote in their favour. In light of the…
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Q2
54/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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Oversight of defence and security is exercised by two separate committees. The defence portfolios are overseen by the Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade Committee…
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The Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade Committee comprises eight elected Members of Parliament. New Zealand parliamentarians generally have limited if any experience in the…
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The Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade Committee (FADTC) conducts annual reviews of the Ministry of Defence and New Zealand Defence Force [1]. The FADTC…
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Select Committees normally meet once every sitting week. They may also meet more frequently depending on their volume of work. The number of sittings…
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The FADT Committee can examine any matter it wishes other than a bill that has not been referred to it, except as provided in…
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Select Committees make recommendations to the Government, rather than a department, but would only really do this through petitions and inquiries [1]. Standing Order…
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Q3
100/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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Defence policy or security strategy is debated by the Executive, Legislature, and the public. The Minister of Defence regularly fields questions about defence policy…
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The scope of debate is extensive. Disregarding debates in Parliament and the media, the list of publicly available documentation relating to the country’s national…
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Public submissions are frequently made to the Ministry of Defence and the FADT Committee. During the formulation of the current Defence White Paper, in…
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Information can easily be obtained via the MoD or NZDF websites, which are routinely updated. There is a strong tradition of involving the public…
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Q4
100/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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The Official Information Act establishes the regulatory framework for ensuring the availability of official information. Additionally, all Ministries and public institutions must uphold the…
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The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 ensures civil liberties are enshrined in law. This includes freedom of expression, as in Paragraph 14…
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Opening remarks delivered by the New Zealand Chief of Defence Force at the 2017 workshop for Transparency and Accountability in Modern Military Operations, shows…
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Q5
88/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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On 3 December 2015, New Zealand announced that it had ratified the UNCAC through making the necessary changes to 15 acts of the Organised…
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New Zealand has complied with most of its obligations and regularly ranks amongst the least corrupt countries. Nonetheless, there are instances of bribery involving…
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Q6
88/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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There is public debate on defence issues, although this is delineated between academics and the general public. One of the main avenues for debate…
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(Refer to Q6A, specifically articles within Line of Defence, with pieces written by government employees, this also usually includes interviews with defence personnel.) In…
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Q7
NEI/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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As per the State Sector Act 1988, Section 57, the State Services Commission’s Standards of Integrity and Conducts has information and regulations around integrity,…
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There is not enough evidence to score this indicator. The NZDF recently formed a Counter-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Advisory Group, the terms of reference of…
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Q8
100/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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Intel/Security – The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security conducts independent oversight of the New Zealand intelligence agencies [1]. The appointment, functions, duties, and powers…
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Intel/Sec – The Office of the Inspector-General of intelligence and Security is an independent statutory officer appointed by the Governor-General on a recommendation from…
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There is not enough information to score this indicator. Intel/Sec – The Office of Inspector General of intelligence and Security regularly publishes annual reports…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. The Assessor has found nothing substantive to indicate any legitimate concern by the public…
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Q10
83/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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The Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) is the main conductor of independent assessments for the defence sector. Apart from audits as part of the…
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The Office of the Auditor-General performs annual assessments but may “at any time examine” a public entity’s efficiency and effectiveness in carrying out its…
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The Office of the Auditor-General conducts assessments as part of its statuary mandate, but may arrange with the Financial Markets Authority to initiate a…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
92/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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The Ministry of Defence provides a clear and simple explanation of the procurement cycle on its website with links to relevant policy documents [1].…
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Transparency has improved since the last Defence Integrity Index and the public has access to information about the entire process. Major capital projects are…
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Long-term acquisition plans are elucidated in Defence Capability Plans published by the Ministry of Defence. External financial oversight is conducted by the Auditor-General [1,…
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Q12
88/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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Vote Defence Force and Vote Defence include key items of expenditure. Financial details are included in Vote Main Estimates and Vote Supplementary Estimates. Current…
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In New Zealand, the government fiscal and budget year begins on 1 July and ends on 30 June next calendar year. [1] The budget…
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Q13
88/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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Q14
100/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The budgets for both MoD and NZDF are released in disaggregated form on Budget Day – they are tabled in the House and they…
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The budgets are fully transparent and adhere to the New Zealand Treasury budget formulation process [1]. An independent audit is conducted by Audit NZ…
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Request for information are handled under the Official Information Act [1]. This governs what, when, and how the Government responds to requests. The Government…
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Q15
100/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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All Crown income is reported to the Treasury on a monthly and annual basis and published online [1, 2, 3]. Financial details for the…
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The Office of Auditor-General undertakes review of Government financial and administration compliance and has both auditing and controller functions [1]. Its role and functions…
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The Government Defence sector does not derive much revenue from sales due to its small size. However, when the opportunity does arise, scrutiny is…
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Q16
88/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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The MoD regularly engages in reviews of the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls including procurement policy, authority to commit the Ministry (Delegations) policy,…
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As per the Standing Orders (S196), papers and records relevant to proceedings must be provided to the FADTC if requested [1]. The redaction of…
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The OAG assesses and grades the MoD and NZDF management control environment and refers to any relevant audit and inquiry work as part of…
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The ministry does address audit findings regularly but without further clarification its application appears inconsistent, or rather, there are appears to be no discernible…
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Q17
88/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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The Auditor-General has full powers to review Military defence spending, which includes financial audits and best practices. The Public Finance Act and Public Finance…
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The Controller and Auditor-General and Deputy Controller and Auditor-General are both appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the House of Representatives [1].…
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Auditing is proactively published within a reasonable timeline; however some details are withheld under the Official Information Act 1982. For example, the Treasury’s Baseline…
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Audit recommendations are addressed by MoD and the NZDF, although not all findings may be implemented within a financial year [1, 2]. From the…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
92/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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Any work or activity by the Crown must comply with the Resource Management Act 1991, although the Minister of Defence may exempt certain activities…
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While the MoD is technically permitted to be exempt from the Resource Management Act 1991, in practice this seems rare. Indeed, according to the…
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There are no restrictions on defence personnel participating in business activity relating to natural resources. However, DFOs specify that anything holding a potential for…
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’ as there is no evidence of defence institutions participating in the exploitation of natural resources [1,2].
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable as there is no evidence of defence institutions’ interests in controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with…
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Organised Crime
Q19
100/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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According to the source interviewed, there is minimal likelihood of penetration of organised crime into the defence sector, and they were not aware of…
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Police do recognise that transnational organised crime is increasing in volume and sophistication and, while historically there has been few suspected instances of corruption,…
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Q20
100/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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According to the NZDF Military Police, it maintains policing and investigative functions, including the ability to investigate criminal offending and allegations of improper behaviour.…
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When the NZ Police investigate cases of NZDF personnel in breach of the Crimes Act, their policy relating to conflict of interests is applied…
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According to HQ NZDF, there have been no NZDF personnel or employees investigated or prosecuted for corruption [1]. However the revelation that a number…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
63/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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Oversight mechanisms are set out in the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 [1]. The Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) is…
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According to the New Zealand Intelligence Community, the intelligence agencies’ classified annual reports to the ISC contain complete annual financial statements and show key…
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Q22
100/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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Public Service Commission requirements dictate all positions be subject to scrutiny so as to meet objective selection standards [1]. The Public Services Commissioner appoints…
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According to the New Zealand Intelligence Community, the Public Service Commissioner appoints and employs Public Service Chief Executives, for all agencies, using a competitive…
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According to its Annual Report, the NZSIS has “statutory responsibility for administering the national security clearance vetting process” [1]. Depending on the level of…
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Export Controls
Q23
67/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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New Zealand supported the ATT throughout its negotiation and was among the first countries to sign the ATT on 3 June 2013 and ratified…
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New Zealand has complied with all three relevant articles of the ATT. New Zealand is not a major exporter of arms, as it contains…
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There is no evidence that the New Zealand Parliament has debated arms exports during the timeframe assessed for this iteration of the GDI. This…
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Lobbying in Defence
There is no legislation regulating defence lobbying, nor is there any other overarching lobbying legislation. However lobbying activity is addressed in other official documents.…
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This indicator is scored Not Applicable as there is no legislation regulating defence lobbying.
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This indicator is scored Not Applicable as there is no legislation regulating defence lobbying.
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This indicator is scored Not Applicable as there is no legislation regulating defence lobbying.
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