Business of Government: The two-headed beast, mega-merger, corruption and watching the watchers

Local Government NZ president Sam Broughton was subjected to a mass broadside from ministers, while SFO director Karen Chang contemplates corruption. (Image: BusinessDesk)

Ian Llewellyn

Wed, 23 Jul 2025

When NGOs fightNew Zealand’s reputation for having one of the least corrupt public services and political environments in the world has long been based on the findings of the regular surveys carried out by the global organisation Transparency International.This country consistently ranks among the top three or four for perceived corruption.“Perceived” is the operative word. TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index has never been purported to be more than a measure of how the people in one country feel about the government offic...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Already a Subscriber ? Sign in here.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].name) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}

Economy

Kiwi sinks to 15-year low against euro

Kiwi may soften further against euro as traders price in cash rate expectations.

Andy Macdonald 1:00pm

Economy

NZ wing of GrowthOps owed $4.3m in intercompany loans

The parent company floated on the ASX in 2017.

Gregor Thompson 12:00pm

NZ wing of GrowthOps owed $4.3m in intercompany loans

Primary Sector

Alliance chair warns farmer rescue plan offers ‘false hope’

Five Southland farmers have put together an "alternative" to the Dawn Meats deal.

Riley Kennedy 10:00am

Alliance chair warns farmer rescue plan offers ‘false hope’

Sponsored

AI agents: opportunity or graveyard? Spark’s five-point playbook for success

Artificial intelligence agents – autonomous digital entities that analyse data, automate decisions, and act independently – are set to drive a new wave of business transformation.

Spark Enterprise

Sponsored