Andersen VirginiaVIRGINIA ANDERSEN (Labour): Thank you. Just to continue in terms of clarifying information disclosure there are two main points that I'd like to cover in the time I have to speak tonight the first being general comments around information disclosure and the second being more specific discussions around direct access to information particularly around clause 293. The main reason that we've reviewed the Customs and Excise Act 1996 is that the world has changed and we have come to learn the fact that for New Zealand as an island nation our border is special very special not just in terms of our identity as a nation but also in terms of our economic state at the moment and it's important to protect that.It's important to protect it because customs is the only agency that collects information about all goods and people that come in and out of New Zealand and that's an important function. It's not important just because of those goods and those people. We're in an age where it's the information surrounding those entities that has become even more interesting over the time that we try to strike a balance between making sure we have transparency in the collection of that information and its use and dissemination but also in terms of protecting that border—making sure that we retain the importance of being an island nation with a border. That's why this piece of legislation is so important. It enables us to move as a country with the times and to make the most of who we are as a country make the most of the fact that we are an island nation. That's why it's really important to keep us moving with those times. One of the most important things that this piece of legislation does is clarify the direct access to information for certain purposes. In the past what we've seen is—well for want of a better term—a bit of a free-for-all in some ways. We haven't had a clear framework in terms of transparency as to where we are accessing information. There's been no clear measuring up of who's getting it and where so it's good to see that now if we're wanting to access thing like the passenger name record which is the list of people coming into New Zealand—if there are agencies that need to access that information directly we need to know why and we need to make sure that our Ministers are aware of the reasons why. It's really encouraging to see that before entering into any written agreement about information sharing those Ministers must be satisfied on three clear factors and I'm going to iterate those now because I think it's important that we know what those factors are that Ministers must be conscious of before written agreements are entered into to enable that direct access of information into customs information gathered at our borders.The first is that the direct access to that information is reasonable and practical". The second one is that "there are adequate safeguards including audit requirements to protect the privacy of individuals"—and how important that is. Thirdly is that "the agreement includes appropriate procedures for direct access to and the use disclosure and retention of the information." Can I just say that at a time when we're recording biometric information—that's information about people's identities that are recorded; their faces their irises their fingerprints—it's important to know how long that information is being retained. So while we move with the times while we need that more accurate data we also need to conscious of how we are retaining that information to make sure that that privacy is adequately protected.One of the main objectives behind this bill—and they are listed out in the introduction at the very start—is the "facilitating [of] greater information-sharing between Customs and other agencies." and that is so important. We do need to be a joined-up Government we do need to be making sure that we understand who is coming into New Zealand and who is leaving and that is why we need to make sure that—"