Hayes John: Customs and Excise (Border Processing—Trade Single Window and Duties) Amendment Bill Biosecurity (Border Processing—Trade Single Window) Amendment Bill — Third ReadingsText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHayes John: Customs and Excise (Border Processing—Trade Single Window and Duties) Amendment Bill Biosecurity (Border Processing—Trade Single Window) Amendment Bill — Third Readings[Sitting date: 20 March 2014. Volume:697;Page:16934. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JOHN HAYES (National—Wairarapa):Last evening there was a lot of hot air coming from that side of the House trying to make trouble out of nothing. It came from one Phil Goff. The sorts of things he was saying were: “The Minister of Customs has yet to explain to the House why his budget has blown out.” “What required a blowout of $13 million extra?” “Is that the last of the blowout?” “This is only the first tranche. Are we going to have the same problems with the second tranche?” “There have been variations that have caused the extra costs.” etc. etc. etc. And he asked that I come back and explain to the House today exactly what has been going on. I have done that work. The Joint Border Management System provides a single channel a single trade window for importers and exporters to comply with New Zealand’s border requirements. We are doing it to make a more efficient system. It is going to save $450 million of exporter and importer funds over the next 10 years. The Joint Border Management System has the full support of industry which is partly paying for it through cost recovery.Two major change requests for tranche one were approved by the Joint Border Management System joint executive board back in 2012. Those change requests which had an impact on timing and budget were supported by industry. They were to first of all switch from a single delivery date to a longer-term phased delivery more in keeping with modern IT practice and secondly to incorporate changes in the World Customs Organization message format—WCO Data Model 3—to ensure that the Joint Border Management System is equipped with world standard work flow into the Trade Single Window. The Joint Border Management System is now a multiyear phased programme of work so there is no single finish date. It is like building a travel website. The first stage might tell you the flights you have got to book and then later modules provide access to hotels rental cars insurance entertainment and the like.Grant Robertson: Tim Groser knows about all of that.JOHN HAYES: So does Shane Jones. The Trade Single Window has been up and running since 1 August 2013 and is working well. There have been 265000 transactions that have been successfully made to date. The feedback from industry about the Trade Single Window has been superb. Last night Mr Goff was trying to compare it with INCIS. I would point out that INCIS was a computer program that was never ever put to work. It was never actually implemented. We are not in that situation because as I have said this system is already working and we have had 265000 transactions so far. In a typical year you can expect about 600000 transactions.The program is contrary to Mr Goff’s assertions within budget. A total of $77.2 million has been spent to date out of $89.7 million. Labour members have repeatedly been informed of this progress through my committee the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee and through answers to written questions. Indeed there have been a number of articles in the media back to June last year documenting the increased budget and the changes of timing for implementation. The choice of IBM as a provider was up to the Customs Service and the Ministry for Primary Industries and they went through standard Government procedure processes which do not involve Ministers.As I said the Trade Single Window has handled 265000 transactions to date. All outward messages from the Customs Service to traders are going through this process and 24 percent of inward trade lodgments are going through the Trade Single Window. Industry pilot partners are satisfied with the performance. It processes transactions in an average of 28 seconds. Each transaction is processed in 28 seconds saving them time and money. Traders will progressively move on to the Trade Single Window through 2014 and 2015 and ultimately it will deal with approximately half a million export transactions annually 1.4 million import transactions and 124000 cargo reports.Pilot partners which represent 63 percent of total transactions worked with the Customs Service and the Ministry for Primary Industries to develop test and launch arrangements for the window. One is CargoWise. It handles I think something like 50 percent of industry transactions. It is very pleased with the system and has said so both to the Minister and publicly in fora like the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation Conference. CargoWise marketing has said to its clients: “We urge you to work with us to move you to the new ediEnterprise web service as quickly as possible and enjoy a considerable cost saving as well as a much more predictable and reliable service.” Fonterra’s direct connect development provider SAP in Europe said that the Customs Service is the best customs administrators it has ever dealt with and I would just add that that has been my experience over the last 9 years in this House. I have always thought that the Customs Service is one of our best Government agencies. SAP goes on to say that it is the best administration it has ever dealt with in terms of support and responsiveness and it deals with many.Let me just go through the budget information that was sought last night which of course Mr Goff has had for some time had he ever bothered to read through answers to parliamentary questions and his written questions. The approved capital budget in 2010 was $75.9 million. Cabinet approved an additional expenditure of $8.9 million from within the existing Customs Service and Ministry for Primary Industries capital expenditure baselines and a $4.9 million fiscally neutral transfer from operating funding to capital funding. That then gives you a total budget of $88.7 million of which $77.2 million has been spent to the end of February this year. I hope that answers the questions that were raised last night. I am in absolute support of this piece of legislation which is outstanding and very well brought to this House and managed by a very competent Minister. Thank you.