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New detector dog teams have completed their three-month training programme and begin working at the border from tomorrow, says Customs Minister Nicky Wagner.

“The four Labrador’s, Casey, Flo, Latte and Que and their handlers were put through their paces during their training using tasks and exercises that simulate the airport and cargo operational environments,” Ms Wagner says.

“Three teams will be based in Auckland and one in Christchurch.

The addition of 12 new eGates at Christchurch airport will improve international travellers’ airport experience says Customs Minister Nicky Wagner.

“Eight new eGates are being installed in Customs’ arrivals area and four in the departures area,” Ms Wagner says.

“We are replacing the six older SmartGates with the next generation eGates, and adding six more, to provide travellers with a faster one-step process that takes around 25 seconds.”

This week Customs is deploying 14 new FirstDefenders, a mobile substance identification device, to enhance its capabilities to protect the border says Customs Minister Nicky Wagner.

“FirstDefenders use a laser to analyse a substance, often without the need to open the packaging. It matches this against a database of over 11,000 illicit and legal substances to provide an accurate result within seconds,” Ms Wagner says.

The warmer weather signals the arrival of overseas yachts for the summer and Customs is geared up to welcome them says Customs Minister Nicky Wagner.

“The traditional small craft arrival season starts in mid-October and continues through to mid-December. Customs expects 420-440 arrivals during this time,” Ms Wagner says.

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner has met Customs five newest recruits in Auckland.

The Labradors were selected from Australian Border Force’s dog breeding and training facility in Melbourne in August and are three weeks into an extensive three-month training programme.

Overseas partner agencies have stopped illicit drugs with a harm cost of over $204 million from reaching New Zealand in the last financial year says Customs Minister Nicky Wagner.

“Drug smuggling is a global problem and Customs works closely with offshore partners to detect smuggling activity and intervene with drug supply chains early,” Ms Wagner says.

Customs is investing in a world-class patrol vessel to reinforce and enhance the protection of New Zealand’s maritime border, says Customs Minister Nicky Wagner.

“Customs has always had a strong maritime role that spans across its 176-year history. While the early days of chasing tobacco smugglers are long gone, maintaining its capabilities to respond to threats is as crucial as ever.

Customs is contributing to large drug seizures overseas through intelligence sharing and collaboration, says Customs Minister Nicky Wagner.

“Customs is part of a global enforcement network focussed on identifying and targeting drug smuggling and syndicates worldwide. Information shared with international partners has resulted in approximately 115kgs of cocaine being seized in Australia in the past year,” Ms Wagner says.

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner today announced eight new generation eGates have been installed at Wellington International Airport and are fully operational for arriving and departing passengers.

“Eight new eGates are available to New Zealand, Australian, US, UK, and Canadian ePassport holders arriving and departing in Wellington,” says Ms Wagner.

The Ministers of Police, Customs, and Internal Affairs have congratulated their departments for their efforts in fighting online child sexual abuse.

The Ministers say identification and rescue of victims, both within New Zealand and internationally, will continue to be a priority of their departments’ work. Police, Customs and Internal Affairs recently worked together to create a national database of images to assist in the assessment of child abuse material and victim identification. 

Improving the availability of quality information about New Zealand’s disabled community will lead to better decision-making by government agencies, Statistics Minister Craig Foss and Disability Issues Minister Nicky Wagner say.

The Ministers today opened consultation on the development of a Disability Plan to ensure government agencies have the data necessary to make informed, evidence-based policy decisions.

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner says Customs six-months drugs seizure statistics are tracking towards another record year, and show drug interception systems are working well.

“From January to June, Customs made 1634 seizures at the border of numerous types of class A, B and C drugs including almost 143 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 575 kilograms of its precursor ephedrine,” Ms Wagner says.

Budget 2016 is investing $19m over four years in modernising and transforming Customs’ workforce model, Customs Minister Nicky Wagner says.

“Air passenger volumes are forecast to increase by 21% between 2015 and 2020. Trade volumes are forecast to grow by 30% for the same period. We need to ensure that Customs is ready for this growth.”

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner congratulates 134 Customs officers nation-wide for their service to New Zealand and attended a medal and long service ceremony in Christchurch this morning.

“Collectively, the 139 receiving awards have served more than 3250 years’ to New Zealand. This vast experience and knowledge is crucial to ensuring that our borders remain well protected and safe,” Ms Wagner says.

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner says Customs is continuing to look into different ways of collecting tax effectively for low-value imports before proposing to lower the threshold at which it is collected.

“The volume of low value goods imports has grown by about 14 per cent per annum and is expected to double over the next five years. Customs does not currently collect GST and tariff duty if the total tax owed is under $60,” Ms Wagner says.

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner says Customs detector dogs that are proving their worth, having sniffed out almost $10 million of undeclared and concealed cash at the border in three years since their introduction.

“Customs dogs and their handlers play an important role in targeting and identifying criminal activities and networks. They help to protect New Zealand from money laundering and detecting the movements of large sums of cash that could be linked to illicit activities,” Ms Wagner says.

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner says six new eGates are now open for New Zealand, Australian, US, UK, and Canadian ePassport holders travelling to Queenstown.

“Four new next-generation eGates are available on arrival and two on departure, giving travellers the option of completing Customs checks using the one-step electronic process,” Ms Wagner says.

“The opening of the gates is timely, with fresh snow covering the ranges and Queenstown airport’s international capacity scheduled to increase by 14 per cent compared to last winter.”

Disability Issues Minister Nicky Wagner today departs to the United States to support New Zealand’s candidate for election to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, engage with international experts on the employment of disabled people, and discuss emerging international border security trends with Homeland Security.

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner is encouraging exporters to use Customs’ business outreach programme to help them make the most of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) New Zealand has.

“The programme reaches out to manufacturers and exporters at the grassroots level, mainly small to medium companies, to support and advise them on how to maximise the competitiveness of their goods offshore,” Ms Wagner says.

Budget 2016 will support the implementation of a new Customs and Excise Act to ensure that systems and processes are in place to maximise the benefits says Customs Minister Nicky Wagner.

“The Government is investing $8.2 million to ensure the effective delivery of a modernised Customs and Excise Act and supporting regulations by developing systems, processes and services to accommodate the changes,” Ms Wagner says.

Budget 2016 is investing 1.5 million over two years into export security initiatives and $7.1 million over four years to reduce compliance costs, speed up border clearances and increase the effectiveness of risk assessment tools say Customs Minister Nicky Wagner.

“International trade is vital to New Zealand’s economy. Trade volumes are forecast to grow by 30% between 2015 and 2020. That is why it is important for our borders to become more streamlined while increasing our risk assessment capabilities,” Ms Wagner says.

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner congratulates twenty-five new Customs officers who will help to manage increasing travel volumes at the border.

“The new officers are a welcome addition at Auckland airport as travellers to New Zealand continue to grow,” Ms Wagner says.

“By 2019, Customs is expected to process 12.7 million travellers per year – 20% more than 2015.

“Customs’ new recruits have just completed an intensive training course designed to support world class border management operations.

Budget 2016 establishes a two-year trial to streamline border processing for low-risk travellers and traders, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Customs Minister Nicky Wagner say.

“The Government is investing $1.6 million of operating funding over two years to make it easier for low-risk travellers to visit New Zealand, and $2.8 million operating funding over two years to speed up clearance of low risk goods across the border,” Mr Guy says.

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner announced that the Government has agreed to a series of proposals that will modernise the Customs and Excise Act to, strengthen border management, streamline the excise system, and address a range of issues for New Zealand businesses.

“The changes will make the Act simpler, more efficient and increase transparency for businesses who import and export. We have worked with the sector and implemented many of the changes they have advocated for,” Ms Wagner says.