11. Question No. 11—CustomsSIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki) to the Minister of CustomsQuestion No. 11—Customs11. SIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki) to the Minister of Customs: Does she stand by all her statements and actions in relation to COVID-19?Hon JENNY SALESA (Minister of Customs): Yes in the context that they were given.Simon O'Connor: When she said in her speech yesterday that she expects every person to self-isolate what precisely is Customs doing to ensure that every single person understands their obligations?Hon JENNY SALESA: The strict border measures that we have combine customs health workers at the border as well as the Ministry for Primary Industries. What Customs is doing is we have actually changed the customs arrival card so that we include health information on there in terms of self-isolation. This is actually being rolled out later on this evening and these are some of the questions that are being asked that are different to what has been on that particular form in the past: Have you been in close contact with a person who's been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 14 days?"; "What date did you have last contact with that person?"; another question "Have you had any of the following symptoms in the past 14 days: fever cough difficulty breathing?"; next question "Have you been tested for COVID-19?"; next question "What date were you tested?"; next question "Have you received results from that test?"; "Was that test positive?"; "Do you intend to self-isolate?"; and "What address are you going to self-isolate in?" This arrival card is a legal document. False declarations can lead to penalties including fines prosecution imprisonment and deportation from New Zealand.Simon O'Connor: Acknowledging the Minister's answer—and thank you—can she confirm to the House though that every single returning passenger has at least one person-to-person engagement to specifically outline their health obligations?Hon JENNY SALESA: I can confirm to the House that what I saw this morning when I went to Auckland international airport was a lot of interaction from different people. So every person who gets off an international plane is stopped by a health person and given a self-isolation card. They then have to fill the card out and then they queue up to two other health folks who then go through the form either approve it or not approve it—they actually mark it OK or not—then everybody goes on to customs and it is at the customs booth that folks are then asked again about their self-isolation plans. These forms are then collected handed to Healthline and we have the police who are helping us in terms of spot checks. Those who have filled in their self-isolation plans—police are now going through and doing spot checks to ensure that folks who've said they're self-isolating are indeed self-isolating. Simon O'Connor: When she says—or has said rather—that those who refuse to self-isolate may be put on a plane and deported can she articulate if that is immediately or if that person has to wait in self-isolation in New Zealand first?Hon JENNY SALESA: Customs actually has powers to detain people at the airport for a certain period of time. Customs is working right alongside our health people at the airport. It is actually advice from health—they are the ones with the power basically to deport folks actually working alongside immigration. We have all those powers. Customs has powers under the public health Act. It also has powers and the Minister of Immigration also has powers. It is indeed our intention to enforce all of these different powers to ensure that people who flout the laws who don't actually have a plan to self-isolate do not enter our country and that they are indeed deported.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question that was asked is a very important one and I listened carefully to what the Minister said. She may not have quite picked up what was in that question and it arises out of the fact that if people aren't immediately deported and they are kept in New Zealand for their two weeks of isolation under our current law they'd be entitled to appeal their deportation and therefore stay in the country for a much longer period of time. So I think if the Minister could deal with that—SPEAKER: Well—[Interruption] I don't need any help from Iain Lees-Galloway. There's a general point—saying that one's not satisfied with an answer is not generally acceptable but I'll ignore that and say that I did listen to what the Minister said right at the beginning of her answer. There was a lot of stuff afterwards but right at the beginning of her answer she did indicate that there was a power to immediately deport. Simon O'Connor: What does she say to New Zealanders returning home in recent hours who have not experienced the "strictest border measures in the world" particularly bearing in mind that they are now through the border and in the community?Hon JENNY SALESA: What I can say is that everyone who has filled out the form including their address and you know the fact that they say that they will self-isolate—as I say we are now having the assistance of our police to ensure via spot checks that people are indeed self-isolating. Can I say that fighting COVID-19 is something that we collectively as a society have a responsibility for. The Director-General of Health has already appealed to everyone to dob in people who they know should be self-isolating but are not. This is actually something—in order for us to successfully fight COVID-19 I appeal to all of New Zealand: let's unite and fight COVID-19."