Macindoe Tim: Customs and Excise Amendment Bill Biosecurity Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Macindoe Tim: Customs and Excise Amendment Bill Biosecurity Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Advance Copy - Subject to minor change before inclusion in Bound Volume.] 
TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West) 
: 
 I wonder whether members of the public who may have been listening over the last 20 minutes to some of the Opposition speakers have been left wondering what on earth it is that we are actually debating tonight. Thank goodness for the typically erudite and learned contribution of my good friend Dr Calder a short time ago which brought some focus and clarity back to the discussion because those who listened to Mr Parker would have heard him roaming far and wide. We had a little discourse on  
The Day of the Jackal 
 and I think he spent a little bit of time back in Epsom. He certainly left me thinking that I am not sure where he stands but right at the end he confirmed that Labour is supporting this legislation. 
Prior to that we listened to Damien O’Connor who began reasonably well. He was right to emphasise the importance of biosecurity—no question about that; that is a major focus of this legislation—but he was absolutely wrong to attack the Government’s record in this area or our commitment to improving our biosecurity arrangements because we stand on our record and it is a very good one. Mr O’Connor lost his way during his preoccupation with his rather infamous 8 minutes of mystery and intrigue. I have to say that he completely lost sight of the purpose of the bills he certainly lost his audience and I think he even lost the thrill of his 8 minutes. Those who were listening when he started speaking I very much doubt were still listening at the end. The mystical 8 minutes was not as magical as he had led us all to expect it was going to be. 
But for those with real stamina and perseverance I would like to remind them that the purpose of these two bills the Customs and Excise Amendment Bill and the Biosecurity Amendment Bill which are being read together is to make improvements that are required to support the sharing of information across border sector agencies and that has got to be a really positive step. I am pleased after cutting through all the fluff that we have had to listen to in the last 20 minutes that most parties in this House seem to accept that point. 
The Joint Border Management System that the Government agreed to fund is dependent on effective sharing of information. In fact it is quite a theme at the moment in Government across a whole range of different aspects of legislation. It reflects the far more technologically advanced age that we live in I guess. We are looking to ensure the effective sharing of information among agencies operating at the border. These bills provide for important information-sharing between the Customs Service and what is currently the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and will be the primary industries area and in particular will ensure that the Government’s $75.9 million investment in new systems can deliver a real change in border management because obviously we are looking for a good return on that investment—and we did not hear anything from Mr O’Connor on any of that. 
I want to congratulate those who have worked on these bills. It is appropriate that we do that as we move towards the final stages of their passage through the House. There has been very good work done by the previous Justice and Electoral Committee and by the officials and I congratulate them. I know that my very good friend Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi was fully involved in that and I commend him for his real commitment to that exercise. 
I just want to reiterate the purpose of the bills and why they are broadly supported. These bills will ensure that the Government’s investment can deliver a real change in border management. The Joint Border Management System that we have introduced will safeguard our border services it will enhance the management of border risks and it will enable the Customs Service and those working in what will be the primary industries area which is currently the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to give trading partners fast and accurate assurance about the safety of goods leaving New Zealand. As an export-dependent country we cannot overstate just how important that is. Our partners depend on that assurance from us we depend on our ability to give it to them and therefore we need the most accurate information and the most rigorous robust systems to ensure that we can put our hands on our hearts and give those assurances. That is why this Government in recent Budgets has provided significant extra sums to the Customs Service. 
I just want to finish by focusing in particular on the illicit drugs trade. Through enhanced tracking and surveillance we have seen some real successes in a really insidious aspect of modern culture I guess. It is something that we have to be constantly wary of. We hear some horrific reports quite regularly about attempts to move drugs through the country. We need to ensure that we can fight that. I will close by pointing out that the amount of precursors to P that awful methamphetamine that the Customs Service intercepted last year was enough to manufacture at least 169 kilograms of methamphetamine. That saved us over $68 million of potential harm to the community and that cannot be measured in just an economic cost; it has to be measured in a human cost. I say well done to everybody who did that who has achieved it and I commend these bills to the House.