Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill

Members, we come first to the Customs and Excise (Arrival Information) Amendment Bill. We begin with debate on Part 1.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and may I, as others have done, in taking this first opportunity to speak, acknowledge the terrible loss of life here in Wellington overnight, and acknowledge, in particular, our fire crews and others for how they’ve handled everything.

Secondly, if I might, I acknowledge the new Minister of Customs. I’ve said in the House a few times that there’s nothing more exciting than a customs bill, and secondly there’s nothing more exciting than a new Minister of Customs! So welcome.

A couple of questions from me, because, first and foremost, as the Minister in the chair knows, National is supporting this bill. We, by and large, see this as positive. But if we’re dealing with Part 1—and I’ve got a few questions; about three of four, if that’s all right, and I’ll just go through one at time. I’m looking at new section 28A(2), inserted by clause 4—this is the information that’s going to be provided—and it says here “in the way prescribed by the chief executive’s rules”. Your officials will know that we have debated this, discussed this, long and at length—maybe add “boring—in terms of what the chief executive can or cannot prescribe. I’d just like the Minister here in this committee stage to give me and the committee some confidence—and this is no disrespect to the chief executive of Customs or the Ministry for Primary Industries or any other agencies, but to be abundantly clear that there are, in effect, some guidelines, some boundaries around what the chief executive can or cannot ask.

The concern, particularly for any members of the public listening, is that while we move from this paper copy arrival card—we’re all familiar with the little blue piece of paper we fill out; we’re moving on to a digital platform—there were some concerns coming out of the select committee—although, again, I want to say that they were addressed—that the chief executive of Customs, in particular, could put in a whole lot of other questions that we might not deem appropriate to this debate, as the Minister will know, of whether we should be prescribing this quite explicitly in the legislation. We were told clearly there was not a need for it, on the basis that the prescription by the chief executive is already within some sort of framework. So I wonder, as the first question, whether the Minister would be prepared to answer that.

I seek leave for all provisions to be taken as one question.

Leave is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection? There is no objection.

Parts 1 and 2, the Schedule, and clauses 1 to 3