Whaitiri MekaCUSTOMS AND EXCISE (ARRIVAL INFORMATION) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon MEKA WHAITIRI (Minister of Customs): I present a legislative statement on the Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the parliamentary website.Hon MEKA WHAITIRI: I move That the Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 27 April 2023. This is a truncated select committee process to allow the bill to pass House stages in May and come into force on 21 June 2023. This allows for operational readiness before it comes into force.This bill amends the Customs and Excise Act 2018 to provide for clearer arrival information obligations to help with customs-related border management matters. This includes things such as collection of revenue and detection of restricted or prohibited goods. The bill also aims to improve the collection of arrival information by introducing new offences to enforce the system.The work Customs does at our borders is a critical part of managing Aotearoa New Zealand's border system. Customs' core functions are broad: they work to prevent and stop drugs illegal weapons and other prohibited goods from crossing our border. They also have an important role in collecting Crown revenue through the duty system. At the same time it's important that they provide a streamlined experience for travellers coming to Aotearoa. To provide the streamlined experience Customs needs to use innovative and advanced technology to make travel more efficient. Customs makes a data-driven approach to focus on the people and goods that pose the greatest risk. This approach protects Aotearoa while enabling the smooth passage of legitimate travellers and trade.This bill helps improve border management by providing for the digitising of the paper arrival card. A digital arrival card is part of work towards a safer and smarter border using technology. We already have a smart and safe border by international comparisons but it's important we continue work to improve this. Other countries have moved to requiring digital arrival cards such as Canada and Singapore.The New Zealand Traveller Declaration system will be used to implement the digital arrival card. The New Zealand Traveller Declaration has been a vital tool in supporting the safe reopening of our borders. The benefits of digitising the paper arrival card include improved risk assessment from quicker assessment of information against risk factors. This will help cut down unnecessary referrals to border officers. In the future where there is a digital arrival card in place only some people will be referred to a customs officer if their digital arrival card identifies a potential risk or issue. This frees up the customs officers to concentrate on those where potential risk is identified and to look out for persons who might display suspicious behaviour.The accuracy of information will also improve. A digital arrival card removes handwritten answers. Customs officers will not have to decipher what people write down or ask additional questions because they can't read the handwriting. The digital arrival card system has the ability to provide greater guidance around questions such as additional prompts to help travellers answer questions accurately. Those travellers who voluntarily complete the digital arrival card prior to arrival will be able to experience a more streamlined process on arrival in Aotearoa. As Aotearoa returns to pre-COVID-19 volumes of visitors it's important our border processes are as efficient as possible. A digital arrival card could be implemented using existing Customs legislation. However changes are being sought to improve the transparency of the law around arrival information collection. Changes will also improve the way the system works and the enforcement of the system.Specifically this bill provides an implicit obligation on arriving passengers to provide the prescribed arrival information which will be set out in chief executive rules. This will improve the transparency of the system because the public will be able to clearly see in law the requirements they need to follow when they travel to Aotearoa. Currently multiple provisions must be read together for the arrival information requirements. The bill also improves the enforcement of the arrival information required by introducing two new offences. In practice most people want to comply with customs requirements and complete the arrival information. It is expected the offence of failing to provide arrival information will apply to a small number of individuals. I plan to make these offences into infringement offences to provide a low-cost way to encourage compliance.Other changes include a regulation-making power to set the timing for when arrival information can be required. This futureproofs Customs' use of arrival information to respond to emerging risks and future border processing changes. In future Customs may require specific information to be provided offshore and enforce on arrival in Aotearoa. A regulation-making power is also proposed in the bill to exempt categories of travellers from providing arrival information. Exemptions could be used where it is not practical or necessary to collect arrival information from a particular class of persons. For example it is not practical to get arrival information from a person rescued at sea.The approach in this bill aligns with the existing Customs and Excise Act—that is the Act provides for high-level obligations. Secondary legislation which are regulations and chief executive rules provides for matters of detail. I appreciate that the digital system can be difficult for some people. We have some experience to draw from in the earlier use of the New Zealand Traveller Declaration for health purposes. During the development of the system there will be user testing to ensure the system works for a range of people. When it is implemented there will be a call centre to help people complete the arrival information requirements. Before the system goes live it will need to meet Government web accessibility standards. If a person cannot complete arrival information in the digital arrival card they can complete a paper arrival form.This bill also proposes a power to collect information for the purpose of verifying compliance with traveller data entry requirements set out in other statutes. This allows for the Chief Executive of Customs to verify information on behalf of other agencies and use information collected for this purpose. Verification could be needed to manage emergency situations at the border—for example if Customs need to enforce a vaccination requirement in another pandemic. The bill does not implement any COVID-19 requirements. Were these to be necessary they will be set out in health legislation.The verification provisions provide authority for the Chief Executive of Customs to use information held by another agency for verification purposes. The Minister of Customs would need to be consulted where it is proposed Customs verifies compliance with arrival information. The bill provides for any verification provisions in other statutes to be specified in the Customs and Excise Act.I ask Parliament to support this bill. While this bill is small in terms of its size it is important to help Customs successfully fulfil its important border management role. It will provide clearer arrival information obligations and improve the enforcement of the arrival information requirements. I am pleased to commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): The question is that the motion be agreed to.