Dowie Sarah: Passports Amendment Bill (No 2) — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDowie Sarah: Passports Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading[Sitting date: 18 June 2015. Volume:706;Page:4574. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]SARAH DOWIE (National—Invercargill): I rise in support of the Passports Amendment Bill (No 2) and it is a true pleasure to take this short call because this is going to be a very popular move. We have all wanted this for a while but in response to the member opposite Adrian Rurawhe I think it is important to outline why it was the case that our 10-year period of validity for passports was reduced to 5 years. That was done of course on the back of the 9/11 attacks in the States which were horrifying events and really did change the world landscape with regard to terror. Since then we have seen such horrific events through Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and other terror groups so it is very important for us to take our security seriously. As passports are our prime form of identification we need to make sure that our passport holds its integrity and that we deter counterfeiters from preying on a passport as the member opposite did identify for himself. He said that our passport is well respected and valued overseas. So as part of that the Government has looked at biometrics bringing in place a chip to store biometric information about the passport holder in the passport but of course reducing the term was one way to deter counterfeiters from preying on our passport.So that was the reason but of course since then we have secured the passport. The security is now good. We are quite pleased with where we have got to and now it is time to increase the term again and that will be well received. There is nothing worse than having to turn around and fill out more forms after a short time to reapply for travel. New Zealand is a nation of travellers. In fact 77 percent of us hold passports and being as the Minister said geographically isolated as a country the tradition has always been that Kiwis will fly and we head off and do our OE or overseas experience. I am no exception to that of course and I needed a passport to do that and I guess that was when I realised the full value of travelling on a Kiwi passport. It is well respected our country is well respected overseas and it helps the ease of travelling through Europe. So of course this is going to be a popular bill. It is going to be well received but I certainly look forward to the process as we progress this through the select committee.The other thing about this amendment bill is that it is not going to extend the validity period for children. Obviously children’s appearances change too rapidly. I have got a couple of children myself. I see how fast they grow. They sprout up like mushrooms so security-wise we simply cannot issue them a 10-year passport. You would take a photo and just a couple of days later it just would not reflect who they were so it is important that we maintain that difference. It is important for security and I think that mums and dads will understand that exemption in respect of maintaining our security but having to update passports for their young ones.I want to touch on the online system because of course it is a target of this Government under our Better Public Services target to have most—77 percent in fact—of our interactions with the Government online. The online system of applying for passports has been well received and the take-up has been very good. That is going to improve interactions with the Government. The system again is secure and will help people through the process of applying for a passport and getting that as a good and secure form of identification.So it is with pleasure that I partake in this first reading of this bill. I think it will be something that is well received by the public. It is refreshing to say the least to try to keep down and minimise paperwork. But at the same time the public should be heartened that our passport is in a good space is secure and obviously is still well respected around the world. Thank you.