Mahuta Nanaia: Customs and Excise Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading 
Mahuta Nanaia: Customs and Excise Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading 
[Volume:637;Page:7648] 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Customs) 
: 
 I move  
That the Customs and Excise Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a second time 
. The purpose of this bill is to strengthen New Zealand’s border security measures and to provide for more effective and integrated border management in recognition of the fact that New Zealand’s trade and travel landscape is continuing to change and that we must move to keep pace with that. Increasing threats to our communities through terrorism international organised crime drugs identity fraud and other issues mean that we need strong effective legislation to integrate our border management in order to deal with these risks at the front line. This bill helps us to achieve that. This important legislation is also carefully drafted in order to recognise both the Government’s and the community’s interest in effective border management and the rights of people to travel and conduct legitimate trade across our border. 
A key principle of the bill is to reinforce the Government’s commitment to protecting our communities and our country from threats such as drugs and transnational crime. The Customs Service is the first point of contact at the border for people goods and craft so the service needs to have the clear legislative ability to refer people and goods that are of interest to other agencies such as the police and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Other key principles are to address current limitations and border powers to provide more effective integration and stronger links between agencies working at the border and to ensure that people or goods that pose a threat do not slip through the gaps. 
This bill also consolidates border security - related amendments made in 2004 to the 1996 Customs and Excise Act through the Border Security Bill which was designed to counter continuing and increasing border-related threats. 
I would like to acknowledge the work of the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee and the committee clerks and officials in their consideration of the bill and thank them for their efforts to get this bill back to the House. It should be noted that the committee has unanimously agreed to a series of amendments to the bill. They include two substantive changes relating to clauses 8 and 9A plus a handful of minor amendments. The widespread support of select committee members is a positive recognition of the service conducted by the New Zealand Customs Service. 
In relation to the changes to clause 8 it is recommended that an amendment be made so that once the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade has made a determination that goods are kept—all goods—notice of that determination should be given to relevant parties in writing. Corresponding changes are also recommended to the current section 285 of the Customs and Excise Act to set out the rules as to when a notice is deemed to have been received. In this regard the select committee also recommends an amendment to clause 19 to insert new section 209(4A) which provides a defence if the exporter can prove that through no fault of his or her own the notice was not received. These amendments were proposed by the New Zealand Law Society and reflect its submission that the exporter should have notice of the ban before an offence is considered to have been committed. The determination is still the legally active mechanism to ban the export of the goods but the offence provision is contingent on notification not on the determination. 
In relation to changes to clause 9A the select committee recommended that section 79 of the Act be amended to change the date of inflation indexation for alcohol to 1 July in any year and for tobacco to 1 January in any year. The current date for the indexation of inflation on alcohol is 1 June and the date for the indexation of inflation on tobacco is 1 December. This presents issues for both sectors. Firstly the fact that the Alcohol Advisory Council will increase its levy annually on 1 July means that alcohol retailers must make two adjustments in consecutive months. The proposed amendments will mean that the two adjustments will occur on the same date and that will certainly lead to an administrative improvement for the industry. 
The second reason supporting the change is that because of time constraints officials have to seek a waiver of the 28-day rule which is the required public notice period for any adjustments to be made. These changes will enable officials to meet the 28-day rule while also reducing compliance costs for alcohol retailers by avoiding duplication of process and enabling better forward planning by the industry. 
The select committee also unanimously recommended some minor drafting improvements to clauses 4 6 and 19 of the bill. The change to clause 4 corrects a drafting error made in 2002 relating to the definition of New Zealand’s nautical mile limit. The change to clause 6 involves relocating a subclause of the bill relating to the definition of electronic communication devices to provide consistency with other provisions. The change to clause 19 results from recommended changes to clause 8 in that it provides for a penalty to be imposed on exporters if they fail to notify the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade that goods are or may be catch-all goods. The Government supports these amendments and thanks the select committee for its efforts in bringing these matters back to the House. 
A large number of individuals agencies and Government departments have been consulted during the development of this bill. I acknowledge all of those who have made submissions and provided their input. I thank them for their contributions. I also note that the bill complies with the rights and freedoms contained in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 and the Human Rights Act 1993 as well as with relevant international standards and obligations. 
In conclusion the Customs and Excise Amendment Bill (No 2) is important legislation that supports a whole-of-Government approach to better enable border management and it should proceed. The bill affirms this Government’s commitment to a vibrant economy to strong and safe communities and to the protection of our national identity and way of life. Thank you.