Ryall Tony: Courts and Criminal Matters Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee 
Ryall Tony: Courts and Criminal Matters Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee 
[Volume:626;Page:21708] 
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay Of Plenty) 
: 
 Part 4 actually has quite a significant number of important issues and questions. I hope the Minister will take a call and answer some of the questions or I will be required to move further amendments in order to try to get some clarity on this matter. I will just look at what we are particularly wanting him to talk about in respect of this part. Part 4 proposes changes to the Immigration Act to allow for improved information-sharing on the part of the Immigration Service—specifically in its role at our nation’s airports and departure points—providing information to the courts on a number of areas. 
I want the Minister to answer a number of questions. First of all his Supplementary Order Paper removes the requirement for the Department of Labour to advise anybody’s aliases that might have been used in its immigration files. Why would the Government not allow the fines enforcers to know the various aliases that people may be using? There are people who get fined under various aliases. Why would one remove that extra information from the bill? 
Hon Member 
: That’s not right. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Yes if the member looks at the Supplementary Order Paper he will see that under clause 15 the Minister is removing the requirement to provide any known aliases—[ 
Interruption 
] Exactly. It is a question of whether that person is known as Anthony or Tony or Harold or Harry or something like that. That is the sort of information that could be provided. 
Also and I want the Minister to take a call on this what about the new provisions that he has brought in under the Supplementary Order Paper to provide for the commercial airline carriers to receive confidential fines information? This bill did not go to a select committee. I presume it has gone past the Privacy Commissioner—the officials are nodding furiously. Can the Minister explain to us why we are providing this right for the airlines to get specified fines defaulter information? Where is the protection to stop the airlines from passing that information on to anybody else? There is no protection. 
I have moved an amendment that would expressly make it an offence for any airline or any of its staff to pass on the specified debtor information. That should be an offence. That is information that would normally be within the wider Crown sector going out to the airlines—and sensibly too because that is how the system will work. But where is the protection to make sure that that information does not go any further and is not used for any other purpose at all? I would like the Minister to take some time to explain that to us. 
I have also moved an additional amendment. I am concerned that if it becomes too difficult for the Government to implement this policy with the $5000 cut-off and an arrest warrant—117 people a year—it may move to lift that threshold. Because the bill as introduced stated $10000. Opposition parties got it down to $5000 plus the power for an Order in Council to drop it further but the wording does not say that. It allows the executive to say that that $5000 threshold could go up. 
Just remember John Tamihere said that the Minister of Finance could pull the wool over parties by moving one word here or one word there. So I ask United Future to support my amendment that states: “The Governor-General by Order in Council cannot change the amount other than by Order in Council of a lesser amount.” Because remember the Government was telling us: “Oh once we’ve got it all organised and working efficiently we’ll drop it down.” Remember? That is the line that the Government was running. But look one cannot trust these people. John Tamihere told us that one cannot trust them. We need to put a word in there that says that one cannot lower the level. 
Hon Rick Barker 
: You had me up till that point but I’m going in the opposite direction now. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Well that is my worry. I do not want these things moved in the opposite direction. I want them moved down. I saw the Minister of Finance cringe when Mr Ardern made the point: “Well why does it have to be $5000; why can’t it be lower?”.