Sio William: Border (Customs Excise and Tariff) Processing Bill — Second Reading In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sio William: Border (Customs Excise and Tariff) Processing Bill — Second Reading In Committee 
[Sitting date: 24 November 2009. Volume:659;Page:8222. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Mangere) 
: 
 I am happy to rise to declare that Labour supports the Border (Customs Excise and Tariff) Processing Bill as outlined by the Minister of Customs the Hon Maurice Williamson. I take this opportunity to reflect back to the Government some areas that need to be illuminated. I also signal that we have a couple of questions we would like to ask the Government during the Committee stage for clarity. I also take this opportunity to recognise my colleagues the Hon Rick Barker and the Hon Nanaia Mahuta who as former customs Ministers when Labour was in Government had a hand in the genesis of the development of the SmartGate system with our neighbours across the ditch the Australian Government. I acknowledge them because through their initial efforts we are able to join today with the Government in introducing SmartGate. Labour supports SmartGate as an automated passenger processing system that can be used for faster and easier passenger processing and that will facilitate trans-Tasman travel for people deemed to be low-risk. 
Although I was not a member of the Government Administration Committee it was a concern to me that there were only two submitters. Because the airport is in Mangere I had the opportunity to ask the people there whether they had any concerns about SmartGate. Although the people of Mangere—which is the gateway to the nation—support SmartGate they did express some concerns. One concern was this: because we now have a National Government SmartGate may be used only for the elite of society big business or those who travel in first or business class. There was a concern that SmartGate may not include ordinary citizens and ordinary Kiwis. What the Government does is what the Government will do. But in so far as Labour is concerned SmartGate is an option for low-risk passengers. It should not be solely for business passengers and it should include tourists and the ordinary Kiwi traveller. 
A further concern raised was that SmartGate is only a machine and it may make a mistake. If we can imagine a machine using SmartGate a confrontation could occur where the machine is capable only of making a yes or no decision and a person arriving has a valid explanation that could work in his or her favour but is unable to provide that to a real person. This concern was reinforced by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner which in its submission to the select committee gave evidence that there should be a requirement that manual alternatives would always be available or that the chief executive will consult the Privacy Commissioner on any privacy implications before eliminating or reducing manual alternatives. Labour supports the Privacy Commissioner’s recommendation that manual alternatives or real people always be available. I am pleased that the committee recommends an amendment to clause 22 of the bill that proposes at least one alternative method of processing involving a person being available alongside automated border processing. 
Labour agrees with the need to stay up to date with the latest technology to keep our borders safe. We need to protect our borders against the growing P menace and I will have a little bit more to say about that later. Labour believes that the New Zealand Customs Service must have the tools to stay on top of this threat and the Government must give its full support to our border control agencies. We will also be looking to support the Government’s amendments that will be introduced later on.