The Trust Principle

Trust in Government will be strengthened

When designing or implementing government services, processes, and infrastructure, collaborating agencies and other parties will make design and implementation choices to strengthen trust in government.

Rationale

• Trust in good government enhances respect for the law and promotes peace and order for the people of New Zealand. ⁱ
• The Trusted State Services Development Goal states ‘Strengthen trust in the State Services, and reinforce the spirit of service.’
• People have high expectations of the government system and its many agencies. Not only about the quality of services provided, but also the way in which those services are delivered. People need to trust that the system will deliver the services needed in order to go about their lives. People's trust is hard won. It is also easy to erode and difficult to re-establish. ⁱⁱ

Implications

• The activities of the state must be conducted with integrity and professionalism. ⁱⁱⁱ
• Agencies must work to understand and address public attitudes to security, confidentiality and privacy. ^iv
• Where expectations are not met, people lose trust in government: they do not seek the help they are entitled to and they do not provide information necessary for delivering effective services. ^v

Footnotes

[i. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace%2C_order_and_good_government ]

[ii. Development Goals for the State Services, SSC, March 2005]

[iii. Central Agencies Review, September 2006]

[iv. A survey conducted in 2006 by Statistics New Zealand found only about a third (32%) of those who responded said they were comfortable/very comfortable that the government would keep their information confidential. State of the Development Goals Report, SSC, July 2006]

[v. State of the Development Goals Report, SSC, July 2006]