Whaitiri MekaHon MEKA WHAITIRI (Minister of Customs): Madam Chair thank you very much. It's indeed a privilege and a pleasure to oversee the ushering of this very important bill the Customs and Excise Bill. By way of opening the discussion can I first acknowledge the former Ministers the Hon Tim Macindoe and of course the Hon Maggie Barry who definitely had a hand in this bill that we are discussing tonight. I'm looking enthusiastically for the contributions that I know are going to appear as we deal with it theme by theme. Despite the time I know that there's going to be a lot of contribution given to this very important legislation. This is a non-controversial piece of legislation but it's a very important piece of legislation.We are attempting to modernise the Customs and Excise Act which hasn't been modernised for up to 20 years. In some parts of the Act it's about a hundred years in which it hasn't been touched so this is an attempt to bring it into the modern world. The legislation will be more flexible to respond to a changing global environment and changes in business and border management practices and the bill will balance the protection of the nation with individual rights. Just for members' information the bill carries over most of the current Act with of course the key policy changes to bring the legislation into line with modern technology and business practices.For members of the House I want to acknowledge that business have been involved throughout the policy development stages of the bill and consulted on the draft. If there was an exemplar bill that we would put up where stakeholders have been actively involved in its crafting then I would definitely nominate this one. The Customs Service will continue to engage with business in developing regulations customs rules and staff guidelines.The major policy change is in relation to greater information-sharing between customs and other Government agencies: disclosing information on people and goods and crossing the border for national security law enforcement public health and safety purposes. Information will also be able to be disclosed to implement or guide Government policy such as free-trade agreements or to maintain regulatory regimes.To increase certainty about how customs must manage its information and circumstances and conditions under which information may be disclosed the bill provides for information-sharing agreements made at the ministerial level for domestic arrangements or chief executive level for international arrangements. Agreements will specify protection for personal and commercially sensitive information and give a more efficient and transparent process for the sharing of information. This bill attempts to be better for businesses. It will be easier for traders to do business and to interact with customs. The bill also is attempting to provide greater certainty around excise liability and greater certainty for the fuel industry around when excise is due and collect an additional $5 million per annum in Crown revenue from avoiding future litigation. It also clarifies when excisable goods are subjected to the control of customs. It's also about modern and flexible powers to protect New Zealand. This bill confirms the majority of customs' existing powers while recognising privacy concerns. It also provides greater scope and flexibility to address smuggling and national security concerns. The bill also introduces a modern sanction framework. A range of penalties have been increased and made consistent across the bill and other legislation to ensure ongoing compliance. In terms of opening statements I think it's important that the members are also made aware that the Privacy Commissioner and the Law Society made submissions on many of the substantive policy changes in this bill and these submissions have informed the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee's report back to the House. I now turn members' attention to theme one and its title of information disclosure. Focusing on this particular part of the bill just for the benefit of members I inform them that the bill provides a coherent legislative framework for managing information while protecting privacy. This part of the bill continues the information-matching arrangements contained in the current Act which are working well. Permitted information matches relate to matters such as student loans fines enforcement and child support. Any information disclosure agreement made by customs under the new provisions must be consulted with the Privacy Commissioner prior to it being approved by the relevant Ministers within domestic Government or the chief executive for international and private sector agreements. Sensitive personal information such as the passenger name record data and biometric information can be disclosed only under restricted circumstances. To increase accountability and transparency about how customs must manage its information the bill provides for agreements with other Government agencies including for direct access to customs information to be made at the ministerial level for domestic arrangements. The Privacy Commissioner will have active oversight. Greater information disclosure by customs to other Government agencies will contribute to national security law enforcement and public health and safety. The bill retains the ability from the current Act for customs to disclose information to overseas authorities under a formal written agreement. Checks and balances are written into the agreement. The bill also retains the ability from the current Act for customs to disclose information to an overseas authority outside of a formal written agreement. This ability is restricted to a limited range of functions of the overseas authority and in the type of information that can be disclosed. This form of information disclosure is necessary to meet operational considerations when the trade flows between New Zealand and the other country are not sufficient to warrant a formal written agreement. The select committee considered in their view how best to balance the need for transparency in the collection use and disclosure of information with parliamentary oversight. I want to acknowledge the work of the select committee and of course the officials who have brought this bill to this stage. I look forward to the contributions from the House.