contraband
NEW ZEALAND CUSTOMS SERVICE
December 2010 ISSUE 116
JOHN KEY OPENS
THE NEW CUSTOMHOUSE
170
PROTECTING NEW ZEALAND’S BORDER
FOR 170 YEARS
PUBLISHER
New Zealand Customs Service,
The Customhouse,
1 Hinemoa St, Wellington 6011,
PO Box 2218, Wellington 6140
Ph: 04 901 4500, Fax: 04 901 4555
ISSN 0113-3292
EDITOR
Aaron Hailwood
CONTRIBUTORS
Michael Blades, Craig Chitty,
Clare Helliwell, Lauren Wethey.
DISCLAIMER
While every effort has been made to ensure
that the information in Contraband is correct,
readers must refer to the relevant statutory
publications for confirmation. Opinions
expressed in this magazine are those of
the contributors and are not necessarily
the official views of New Zealand
Customs Service.
COPYRIGHT
All material published in Contraband is
copyright and may only be reproduced
with the permission of the Editor.
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PAGE 6
OPERATION BARRIER
On Wednesday 10 November, officials from across government,
including the Ministers of Customs, Police/Corrections, and
Immigration all came together to consider the national response to
the arrival in New Zealand’s territorial waters of a suspected illegal
entry vessel carrying 497 potential illegal immigrants seeking asylum.
PAGE 8
MINISTER IN CHINA
Minister of Customs Maurice Williamson travelled to China in
October to meet his Chinese counterpart, Minister Sheng Guangzu.
PAGE 12
OPENING OF THE CUSTOMHOUSE
On Wednesday, 17 November, the Prime Minister, Rt Hon John Key
officially opened the new Customhouse in Wellington’s Harbour Quays
precinct — returning Customs to its traditional home on the port.
COVER IMAGE
Prime Minister of New Zealand,
RT Hon John Key, opens the new
Customhouse in Wellington.
IMAGES
Some images are courtesy of iStockphoto.com,
Lance Lawson, and Canadian Forces Combat
Camera. Names of individual artists are
available on request by contacting the Editor.
New Zealand Customs Service is the government
organisation that protects the community from
potential risks arising from international trade and
travel, while facilitating the legitimate movement
of people and goods across the border.
As New Zealand’s gatekeepers, our role includes:
intercepting contraband (such as illegal drugs);
checking travellers and their baggage, cargo and
mail; protecting businesses against illegal trade;
and assessing and collecting Customs duties,
excise taxes, and goods and services tax on
imports. We use intelligence and risk assessment
to target physical checks of containers, vessels,
and travellers. As a law enforcement agency
we conduct investigations and audits and
prosecute offenders.
Customs works closely with the other border
agencies, the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry Biosecurity New Zealand, and the
Department of Labour Immigration Services.
2 Contraband December 2010
3
Message from the Comptroller
4
Message from the Minister
5
Methamphetamine plan in action
6
Operation Barrier — Mass-arrival of Asylum seekers
8
New Zealand and China Customs ministers sign Statement of Cooperation
10 Customs in Timor-Leste — Capacity building
11 New border protection system unveiled
12 Opening of the Customhouse
13Celebrating 170 years of Customs
14 Q&A — Maurice O’Brien
17 SmartGate: Departing Auckland now
18 Customs in court — Unlicensed alcohol manufacturing, revenue evasion,
and objectionable material
MESSAGE FROM THE COMPTROLLER
CELEBRATING 170 YEARS IN
CUSTOMS’ CHANGING WORLD
Welcome to this special issue of Contraband. This year, the New Zealand Customs Service
is celebrating our 170th year of protecting New Zealand’s border, and this issue sees us pay
tribute to our history as the oldest government department in New Zealand.
Customs was first established in the
Bay of Islands to collect revenue for the
Crown — with Auckland and Wellington
established soon after — and certainly
in the 19th century we were the Crown’s
primary source of revenue. Today, revenue
still has a place with Customs collecting
15 percent of the Crown’s revenue in the
form of import tariffs, goods and services
tax, and excise duty.
Our role has broadened from a pure
revenue collection role in 1840 to
protecting New Zealand from threats
to our economy, society, and environment
including organised crime, illicit drugs,
prohibited goods, infringements of
intellectual property rights, and people
smuggling. We have grown from the
office in Kororareka to today’s 16 centres
throughout New Zealand including
all international airports and seaports.
We also have attaches in Bangkok,
Beijing, Brussels, Canberra, and
Washington D.C, and currently have
staff helping building capacity in
Timor-Leste and the Cook Islands.
We pride ourselves on our agility and
innovation to get the job done. We have
a long tradition of this, whether it be
HS Sherwood’s aerial photography to tail
bootleggers in the 1930s, the introduction
of SmartGate over the past year, or the
upcoming Joint Border Management
System and Trade Single Window
(JBMS/TSW).
Surveillance continues to play an
important aspect in our work as we
monitor New Zealand’s extensive
coastline — the tenth longest coastline
in the world. Customs officers often
patrol aboard the Navy’s in-shore patrol
vessels or our own vessel, Hawk IV
— named after the original Customs
clipper that patrolled Northland and
the Hauraki Gulf in the 1800s.
Today, we use a wide range of tools to
protect the border including extensive
use of x-ray both with cargo and
passenger baggage — our x-ray trucks
can scan a whole 40ft shipping container
in one sweep.
While we still search baggage and
people, and have been using detector
dogs since the 1970s, our recent
technological advances have meant that
we can instantly check passengers and
baggage electronically for traces of drugs
with a simple swab.
We have continued to work closely with
industry stakeholders, and I would like to
take the opportunity to thank them all for
their support in 2010. In particular, I’d
like to acknowledge New Zealand Post’s
International Mail Centre who received
our inaugural Business Partner of the Year
award. This was awarded in recognition
of their cooperation with Customs in our
role at the border — including the fight
against the increasing use of the mail
system by criminals intent on importing
all forms of illicit material.
This year has been a very successful one
for Customs. We have been extremely
vigilant at the border, responding to
new trends by smugglers — including
increasing amounts of cocaine — and
stopping these illicit materials before
they enter our country. Many of our
future initiatives are now closer to
becoming a reality with the development
of JBMS/TSW and improvements to
our surveillance capabilities underway.
The Integrated Targeting and Operations
Centre brings together information
necessary for border security management
in one location, 24-hours a day.
SmartGate is operating in Auckland
for both arrivals and departures,
and at Wellington and Christchurch
arrivals with more than 500,000
passengers having self-processed their
arrival into New Zealand in its first
year of operation.
We look ahead to 2011 and the
challenges it brings. While the threats
we face and the technology we use to
tackle these constantly changes, our aim
of protecting New Zealand’s border
remains. We thank all stakeholders,
border colleagues, and those with
whom we have worked during 2010.
170
PROTECTING NEW ZEALAND’S BORDER
FOR 170 YEARS
MARTYN DUNNE, CNZM
Comptroller
New Zealand Customs Service
Protecting New Zealand’s Border 3
MESSAGE FROM THE MINISTER
ENGAGING WITH CHINA
I have recently returned from a trip to China where as Minister of Customs I engaged
in high level talks with my Chinese counterpart. These discussions focused upon the
smuggling of medicines containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine to New Zealand
for the manufacture of methamphetamine (‘P’).
The Chinese Customs Minister,
Sheng Guangzu, and I talked
at length on the problem that
New Zealand has with large
volumes of pharmaceutical
170
PROTECTING NEW ZEALAND’S BORDER
FOR 170 YEARS
products containing ephedrine and
pseudoephedrine being smuggled
out of China to New Zealand.
821kgs of the ingredients or
precursors used to make
P coming into New Zealand.
I was pleased with the level of genuine
concern from Minister Sheng when
I discussed the devastating effect
‘P’ has in New Zealand, especially
in terms of crime.
Now as a result of my visit to
China, Minister Sheng has
instructed his Customs officers
to pay particular attention to the
export of pharmaceutical products.
New Zealand Customs will
benefit from this extra vigilance,
cooperation and intelligence
sharing from China Customs.
‘P’ has infiltrated all levels of our
society, and as a result torn lives
and families apart.
Minister Sheng and I signed a
statement of cooperation to combat
the importation of drugs from China
and in particular precursors that are
used in the manufacture of ‘P’.
HON MAURICE WILLIAMSON
Minister of Customs
I was pleased
with the level of
genuine concern
from Minister Sheng
when I discussed the
devastating effect ‘P’
has in New Zealand,
especially in terms
of crime.
4 Contraband December 2010
As guardians of the border, customs
administrations have an important
responsibility to stop harmful and
illegal items like illicit drugs from
reaching society. This role has become
increasingly complex as criminal
networks have become more
sophisticated and globally connected.
It is through cooperation, as
New Zealand and China are
demonstrating, that customs and
other law enforcement agencies
can halt these criminal activities.
Since the start of 2010,
New Zealand Customs has seized
During my visit I was also
impressed with the sheer scale
of the China Customs operation.
China Customs has 50,000 staff,
580 offices, and huge volumes of
goods coming across its land, air,
and sea borders. By comparison,
New Zealand Customs has 1,200
full-time staff at 16 air and sea
ports in New Zealand.
China Customs has 2,000 students
training at the Shanghai Customs
College alone.
Despite the differences in scale, the
talks between Minister Sheng and
myself achieved a level of closeness
between our two Customs
organisations that will have both
long- and short-term benefits.
METHAMPHETAMINE PLAN IN ACTION
The Government’s Methamphetamine Action Plan is well underway,
and while it’s still early days, the latest six-monthly report is showing
some encouraging results.
In late October, the second Indicators and
Progress report on the Government’s plan to fight
methamphetamine (‘P’) was released by the
Prime Minister’s office. This progress report comes
one year after the plan was launched. The plan is
cross-departmental, bringing together NZ Police and
the New Zealand Customs Service on the frontline,
along with the Ministries of Health and Justice,
the Department of Corrections, and Te Puni Kōkiri.
The report shows a number of positive steps in
reducing the availability of ‘P’ with both the Police
and Customs continuing to seize high levels of
pseudoephedrine and methamphetamine.
For the nine months to the end of
September we had seized 821 kilograms
— enough to manufacture $220 million
worth of methamphetamine.”
“The price of ‘P’ has been rising over the past four
years,” says, Customs Group Manager Investigations
and Response Bill Perry, “With the latest figures from
Massey University surveys of arrested drug users
suggesting it is steady at a high level, at an average
of $723 a gram.”
One of the main strategies in stamping out ‘P’ is
breaking supply chains. Customs plays a huge part
in that with the seizure of precursor drugs such as
Contac NT which contain pseudoephedrine.
“Last year, Customs seized 1.2 tonnes of
pseudoephedrine,” says Bill, “For the nine months to
the end of September we had seized 821 kilograms
— enough to manufacture $220 million worth of
methamphetamine.”
Over 25 kilos of methamphetamine, with a street value
of around $25 million dollars, has been seized so far
this year by Police and Customs — compared to 20
kilograms seized for the whole of 2009. Most of this
has been seized at the border. The report also shows
that the number of busts of clandestine meth-labs by
Police is up on last year.
The impact of the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act
2009 is also now being felt. Since the Act came into
force last December, Police have identified $48 million
dollars worth of assets believed to have been obtained
through criminal activity. Of that $48 million,
$46 million has been gained through drug offending,
of which over $30 million is linked to
methamphetamine. Assets worth $29.7 million dollars,
out of the $48 million identified by Police, have been
restrained and held by the Official Assignee.
While Customs is focused on initiatives to reduce
supply of methamphetamine progress is also being
made on measures to reduce demand and to support
persons with methamphetamine problems. All the new
residential treatment beds announced under the plan
are in place six months ahead of schedule.
Protecting New Zealand’s Border 5
OPERATION BARRIER
MASS-ARRIVAL OF ASYLUM SEEKERS
On Wednesday 10 November, officials from across government, including the Ministers
of Customs, Police/Corrections, and Immigration all came together to consider the national
response to the arrival in New Zealand’s territorial waters of a suspected illegal entry vessel
carrying 497 potential illegal immigrants seeking asylum.
While no ship was actually on its
way, Exercise Barrier’s scenario is
highly possible. The arrival of ‘boat
people’ in Australia continues to
be a major issue for the government
In October last year the Ocean
Lady, carrying 76 Sri Lankan Tamil
asylum seekers, was intercepted by
Canadian authorities just off the
west coast of Canada. It is believed
Distance no longer presents a barrier to a
well-organised and resourced maritime people
smuggling venture.”
there; and recent events in Canada
have highlighted the threat that a
sophisticated people smuggling
group could pose to New Zealand
— confirming that distance no
longer presents a barrier to a
well-organised and resourced
maritime people smuggling venture.
6 Contraband December 2010
to have started its journey in
southern India and crossed the
Pacific Ocean during the monsoon
season demonstrating that the
travelling distances involved
in reaching New Zealand can
be overcome.
Canada experienced a second
mass-arrival in August 2010 when
the Sun Sea, carrying 492 potential
illegal immigrants was also
intercepted by Canadian authorities.
Reporting in the Canadian media
indicates that more vessels may
target Canada in the future.
“Canada’s experience suggests that a
vessel that reaches its target country,
and is perceived to have succeeded,
is likely to result in more vessels
attempting to reach that country,”
says John Ladd, Customs Manager
Operations Coordination. “This
supports New Zealand’s emphasis on
a deterrence approach and making a
strong, unequivocal initial response
to any venture that may come here.”
HMCS Whitehorse assists HMCS Winnipeg in escorting Motor Vessel (MV) Sun
Sea to a Canadian port on Vancouver Island.
Photo credit: MCpl Angela Abbey, Canadian Forces Combat Camera © 2010 DND-MDN Canada
Hundreds of passengers crowd the deck of Motor Vessel
(MV) Sun Sea after spotting the arrival of HMCS Winnipeg.
Photo credit: MCpl Angela Abbey, Canadian Forces Combat Camera
© 2010 DND-MDN Canada
Exercise Barrier was designed to
practice the whole-of-government
strategic response to a sea-borne
mass-arrival of potential illegal
immigrants.
“We also intended to raise awareness
of high-level issues, and likely
decision points senior officials and
ministers will be confronted with,
should New Zealand be successfully
targeted by a maritime people
smuggling venture,” says John.
According to John, Exercise Barrier
achieved its aims and objectives
with respect to raising the strategic
awareness of agencies’
responsibilities if a people
smuggling venture targets
New Zealand.
“The discussions in the morning
phase involving senior operational
officials from across government
also highlighted the operational
processes each agency will perform
as party of the wider national
response plan.
AGENCIES INVOLVED IN
EXERCISE BARRIER
New Zealand Customs Service
National Maritime Coordination Centre
Police
Immigration New Zealand
New Zealand Defence Force
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Biosecurity New Zealand
Ministry of Health
Department of Corrections
Ministry of Justice
Maritime New Zealand
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Protecting New Zealand’s Border 7
NEW ZEALAND AND CHINA CUSTOMS MINISTERS
SIGN STATEMENT OF COOPERATION
Minister of Customs Maurice Williamson travelled to China in October to meet his Chinese
counterpart, Minister Sheng Guangzu.
Following their meeting in Beijing,
both Ministers signed a statement
of cooperation to combat the
smuggling of pharmaceutical
products used to manufacture
methamphetamine (‘P’).
It will ensure the New Zealand
and Chinese Customs will work
cooperation across borders to
make our communities safer,”
says Mr Williamson.
Both Ministers stressed that it
was the goal of both Chinese
and New Zealand enforcement
authorities to disrupt the supply
chain for drugs. They expressed their
China and New Zealand Customs officials will
continue to work together to interrupt criminal
networks who smuggle ingredients used to make
‘P’ out of China into New Zealand”
together to combat the importation
of precursor drugs used in the
making of ‘P’.
“Minister Sheng and I stressed
the importance of good customs
8 Contraband December 2010
desire to cooperate to specifically
prevent the smuggling of ephedrine
and pseudoephedrine contained in
pharmaceutical products that are
used to manufacture illegal drugs.
“China and New Zealand Customs
officials will continue to work
together to interrupt criminal
networks who smuggle ingredients
used to make ‘P’ out of China into
New Zealand,” Mr Williamson says.
Since the start of 2010,
New Zealand Customs has seized
821kgs of the ingredients, or
precursors, used to make ‘P’, much
of which originated in China.
“This cooperation with China
Customs gives New Zealand
Customs another tool to stop the
scourge of ‘P”, Mr Williamson says.
New Zealand Customs also enjoys
good working relationships with
other relevant law enforcement
agencies in China.
Minister Williamson at the China Customs detector dog training centre in Beijing
Front row: Vice Minister of China Customs Sun Yibao; New Zealand Minister of Customs Maurice Williamson;
Minister of China Customs Sheng Guangzu: and New Zealand Ambassador to China, HE Carl Worker.
Ministers Williamson and Sheng
NEW ZEALAND-CHINA FREE
TRADE AGREEMENT
Both Ministers also acknowledged
the good work to date in
implementing the New ZealandChina Free Trade Agreement.
“In the first year of the Free Trade
Agreement’s implementation,
New Zealand’s exports to China
increased by almost 60 percent”,
Mr Williamson says.
“China is now our second largest
trading partner and for the growth
in our exports to continue, customs
processes at the border need to be
as efficient as possible,” he says.
The Ministers noted their desire to
treat the Free Trade Agreement as a
living agreement, and encouraged
the two customs administrations
to continue to work together to
improve the efficiency and security
of trade between our countries.
Officials met in November 2010
and agreed to explore ways to
further streamline and improve
the facilitation of trade between
the two countries.
During his visit, Mr Williamson
also visited China Customs’
detector dog training centre in
Beijing, the New Zealand pavilion
at the Shanghai World Expo, spoke
to students at a Customs College
in Shanghai, and spoke with
New Zealand businesses trading
with China.
Protecting New Zealand’s Border 9
CUSTOMS IN TIMOR-LESTE
CAPACITY BUILDING
The New Zealand Customs Service has recently had three officers deployed with Timor-Leste
Customs in a capacity building operation to help to implement a robust goods clearance process.
The project has included
development of an intelligence
unit to identify risk, as well as
delivering training on the
processing of goods entries and
physical examination of cargo.
The deployment is being sponsored
by NZ Aid as part of the
New Zealand Government’s
Overseas Aid Programme. The team
consists of Operations Manager
Craig Chitty (team leader), Bruce
Northway, and Mark Borthwick.
This three month deployment, has
seen the team facing challenges and
opportunities as we achieve our
aims on a routine basis.
While most of these have been
work focused, there have been a
number of challenges and
opportunities outside the work
environment.
10 Contraband December 2010
Work challenges have included
significant cultural and language
differences and different
understandings of work priorities,
while the opportunities see the
Kiwi officers able to assist the
Timorese to visibly develop and
share experiences and knowledge,
cultivate relationships with some
really special people, and the
ability to achieve a strong sense
of personal achievement.
The team say one of the biggest
challenges outside of work is
driving in the capital, Dili, with
crazy motorcyclists, limited road
sense, wandering animals, and
impatient taxis all contributing
to the experience!
High temperatures and extreme
humidity; mosquitoes that can give
you some very unpleasant diseases;
tap water that cannot be drunk;
and being separated from family are
further challenges of life in Dili.
To counteract these challenges, the
opportunities include the chance to
be immersed in a different culture,
great eating at very cheap prices
especially if you like seafood (there
are numerous restaurants covering
all tastes) along with meeting some
very interesting people.
A significant feature of this
deployment is that we have
remained a very tight knit unit,
living in the same house and
virtually sharing all meals together,
only basically being separated at
work as we each manage our own
separate role.
In both work and at play, all three of
the team agree that the opportunities
far outweigh the challenges.
The team will return to Timor in
early 2011 for a further month to
review progress.
Comptroller of Customs Martyn Dunne switching on the system with Customs Deputy Comptroller
Robert Lake (left) and Commander of Joint Forces Air-Vice Marshal Peter Stockwell
NEW BORDER PROTECTION
SYSTEM UNVEILED
On Friday, 19 November, a new maritime command and control system, designed to further
improve New Zealand’s border security, was launched in Wellington.
Comptroller of Customs Martyn
Dunne and Commander of Joint
Forces (New Zealand Defence
Force) Air Vice-Marshal Peter
Stockwell switched on the Maritime
Safety and Security Information
System which enables government
The agencies can now spend more
time on analysing information,
identifying risks, and developing
a picture of ships operating in
and around our region.
Customs Minister Maurice
Williamson says that participating
The new system dramatically reduces the time taken
to gather accurate data on the identity and movements
of vessels in our region.”
agencies, through the National
Maritime Coordination Centre,
to see a near real-time picture of
ship movements both within our
borders and beyond.
The new system dramatically reduces
the time taken to gather accurate
data on the identity and movements
of vessels in our region.
in this initiative is a great step
forward in the maritime safety and
security of New Zealand’s border.
Comptroller of Customs Martyn
Dunne says New Zealand is now
part of a global system that would be
widely available to several agencies
for safety and security information.
Air Vice-Marshal Stockwell added
that the new system gives us a much
better picture of our maritime area
of interest which in turn will enable
us to monitor and respond to any
threats in a more timely and
accurate manner.
“It will also enable New Zealand
to contribute information to other
national agencies thereby increasing
our standing in the international
border protection community.”
There are around 70 countries
contributing to the system at
present. In the Asia-Pacific region,
New Zealand joins Australia and
Singapore as full contributors.
Protecting New Zealand’s Border 11
Hon Maurice Williamson, Comptroller Martyn Dunne, and Rt. Hon John Key.
- Network welcomes Rt. Hon John Key.
Custom’s M aori
OPENING OF THE CUSTOMHOUSE
On Wednesday, 17 November, the Prime Minister,
Rt Hon John Key officially opened the new Customhouse
in Wellington’s Harbour Quays precinct — returning
Customs to its traditional home on the port.
The Customhouse took around two years to complete,
with the ground-breaking taking place in July 2008 and
12 Contraband December 2010
staff moving into the building in September this year.
Minister of Customs Hon Maurice Williamson was also
at the opening. Following the formal ceremony, the
Prime Minister took the opportunity to meet and talk
with a number of Customs staff.
CELEBRATING
170 YEARS OF
CUSTOMS
On Wednesday, 24 November, Hon Maurice Williamson,
Minister of Customs hosted the annual Customs
stakeholder forum at Parliament’s banquet hall as part of
Customs’ 170 years anniversary celebrations. A stirring
performance from Customs Māori Network entertained
the guests.
At the forum, Tony Beaglehole from New Zealand Post
was presented with the first Customs’ Business Partner of
the Year award. New Zealand Post’s International Mail
Centre was recognised for actively cooperating with
Customs in its role at the border — including the fight
against the increasing use of the mail system by criminals
intent on importing all forms of illicit material.
Willie van Heusden, President CBAFF,
Hon Maurice Williamson; Denise Hing,
Customs General Manager Policy.
Rt. Hon John Key took the time to meet with Customs officers.
John McLeod, Customs Group
Coordinator Executive Secretariat,
and NZ Post’s Tony Beaglehole.
e function.
fficers at th
o
s
m
to
us
C
Rt. Hon John Key and Comptroller Martyn Dunne unveil the building’s opening plaque.
Protecting New Zealand’s Border 13
Q&A
MAURICE O’BRIEN
Maurice O’Brien is the Customs Counsellor based at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing,
China and has held this role for the past year. Contraband caught up with him to discuss
life in China’s bustling capital.
Q:
A:
What was your first
impression of Beijing?
Huge place, hot and sweaty,
people everywhere and so
many cars on the roads with drivers
who seemed to drive them like they
were bicycles — if any part of the car
fitted into the gap then there was
room to park, change lanes, or turn!
Upon arrival, it was very much like
being a startled rabbit in the middle
of the road. You know you have to
move to dodge the on-coming car,
but which way do you go? Beijing
is like that, with the added
dimension that whatever direction
you take you’re bound to see or
experience something new.
14 Contraband December 2010
It was simply overwhelming to
think I was going to part of this
for the next few years.
Q:
Is there anything that
frustrates you about living/
working in Beijing?
A:
Personally, my greatest
frustration is my inability to
communicate fluently with most of
the people that live in Beijing. If I
was able to, I feel it would open up a
whole new world for me and provide
the independence and confidence to
explore at a completely different level
— and I could also buy trousers that
go past my knees!
Professionally, the frustration is
threefold: having to compete with
other international agencies to
get an audience or response from
Chinese agencies that are inundated
with requests from around the world;
navigating through the variety of
national and regional
administrations to identify where
the diverse inquires we receive
should be forwarded to; and tying
to maintain a large number of
working relationships across China,
Japan, and Korea — as relationships
are everything in this part of world.
Q:
What is the purpose of
your role in Beijing?
A:
I’m still trying to figure
that out! On a more serious
note and in very simple terms, my
role can be divided into trade and
drugs matters at both a strategic
and operational level, ensuring
New Zealand’s star remains high
from a Customs and New Zealand
Inc perspective.
While the free-trade negotiations
and implementation were the
catalyst for establishing a post in
Beijing, the role has become much
more diverse as New Zealand’s
interaction with China and other
countries in the region has
developed and continues to grow.
Q:
A:
What happens in a typical
day at work for you?
I’m sure all our international
posts say the same about
being diverse, flexible, prioritising,
and so on and that is true for me
also. A typical day involves a wide
range of activities and if you can
imagine the functions of the entire
New Zealand Customs Service
reduced down to one role
(excluding post-entry audit) within
the New Zealand Embassy in a
country that’s 35 times the size of
New Zealand you might get an idea.
In practical terms, it can be as
mundane as answering emails,
as interesting as viewing China
Customs’ operations on the border
with Myanmar (not many get to
see that), or as challenging as
developing strategies for ministerial
visits and outcomes.
Q:
Are you working on any
big projects/initiatives at
the moment?
A:
Some of the big projects
that are on my desk at the
moment are:
›› Contributing to Customs’
Methamphetamine Action Plan
strategy. As China is one of the key
source countries for the ingredients
to manufacture methamphetamine
in New Zealand, I’m working with
our colleagues in Wellington,
NZ Police, and the NZ Police
Counsellor here in Beijing to
engage the Chinese enforcement
authorities to try and disrupt
the flow of those ingredients
to New Zealand.
›› Working with other countries
in the region to enhance security
and facilitation of our trade.
For example, New Zealand
signed a supply chain security
arrangement with Japan in
2008 and is exploring a similar
arrangement with Korea.
›› As I write this, I’m about to
depart the office to participate
in the Second Joint Commission
discussions in regards to the
New Zealand-China Free Trade
Agreement which also has a big
impact on my role.
Q:
Do you have any allies
or buddies who you
work closely with or who have
the same interests?
A:
This job is all about
relationships, whether it
Protecting New Zealand’s Border 15
be with my New Zealand Embassy
colleagues, international law
enforcement agencies, or the local
darts team. You simply cannot
survive without support, be it
professional or personal, especially
when you are at a post without
family or a partner.
So I value all the relationships
and support I’ve received from both
within and outside of China.
A number of them bridge the gap
between work and social, especially
at the beginning of your posting,
but as you become more established
and comfortable you find that your
group of friends comes from a
bigger and bigger net. My darts
team (no, I’m not any good…)
consists of Germans, a Belgian,
French, British, Chinese, and a few
others who are of indeterminate
nationality but great fun. Locally,
my biggest support however comes
from a few close work colleagues
such as my assistant, the NZ
Police Counsellor and his wife,
and the foreign law enforcement
officers and their spouses. From
New Zealand, it’s my daughters and
16 Contraband December 2010
a few officers I left New Zealand to
get away from — I still can’t shake
them, but treasure their support.
Q:
Have you seen much of
the Customs operations
in the region?
A:
I’ve seen quite a bit
especially around China and
the scale is beyond comprehension
compared to what I have been
personally used to operationally.
Imagine working at Beijing Capital
International Airport Terminals
1–3 where they process in excess
of 60 million passengers a year,
or the Shenzhen land border to
Hong Kong where, last Easter,
they processed 1 million people
in a 24 hour period.
The volumes of container traffic at
ports like Shanghai and Hong
Kong put into perspective the
challenges that their administration
faces when trying to achieve the
difficult balance of trade facilitation
and enforcement given the resource
allocation that we all must work
within. To achieve their
intervention rates or mitigate risk
they make use of x-ray technology
and have very impressive set ups.
Q:
What is the general
opinion of New Zealand
Customs?
A:
Generally, New Zealand’s
star in China flies very high
and surprisingly a large number
of people I talk to here know about
New Zealand. Historically
New Zealand has had a very good
relationship with the Chinese
government, government agencies,
and its people in a political,
diplomatic, economic, and cultural
sense. It feels like we are actually
treated like friends up here.
My predecessor, Matt Roseingrave,
did a great job promoting Customs
and establishing the role. We have
a very good relationship with China
Customs and other administrations
at all levels from the Minister
down, and evidence of this comes
to the fore when the likes of the
Comptroller or Minister visits
China. The hospitality shown by
China Customs and the respect
shown by the seniority of the
SMARTGATE
DEPARTING AUCKLAND NOW
Trans-Tasman travel continues to became faster and easier with SmartGate
now available for arrivals at Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington
Airports, and about to launch for departures in Auckland.
Hon Maurice Williamson, Minister of Customs, opened SmartGate
at Christchurch Airport on 13 October using his passport to become
the first person through the new automated passenger clearance system
in Christchurch.
Chinese officials is the envy of
many of my colleagues.
I think New Zealand Customs is
seen as a progressive administration
that continues to seek improvement
especially in the area of risk
assessment, is flexible, has a very
high standard of integrity, and is
committed to contributing to
customs globally. The Comptroller’s
role in the WCO is very well
received here.
Q:
A:
What do you miss about
your job in New Zealand?
SmartGate is a kiosk and gate system that uses face-recognition biometric
technology and the information stored in a microchip inside ePassports
to perform the identity check usually conducted by a Customs officer.
The average processing time through SmartGate is 22 seconds.
Since its introduction in Auckland in December 2009, SmartGate
has processed over 500,000 passengers’ arrival into New Zealand.
SmartGate has now launched for any New Zealand or Australian
ePassport holders, aged 18 years or over, when departing Auckland
on any international flight — whether that be Australia or beyond.
We expect uptake for departures looks like it will be just as successful
as it has been for arrivals.
SmartGate is part of a wider government work programme to improve
the New Zealand border system.
If I was to pick a couple of
things that are isolated to
the job it would be along the lines
of the physical camaraderie or
interaction where you can’t walk
into a colleague’s office and pick up
conversations about this issue or that,
but because of time zones you are
limited to email or phone calls which
I find impersonal. At times I hunger
for being in a group developing or
mulling over ideas.
Then again at times like this I say
“Hey I’m in Beijing, Hong Kong,
Tokyo or Seoul, how lucky is that?”
and get on with having a good life!
Protecting New Zealand’s Border 17
COURT REPORTS
CUSTOMS IN COURT
UNLICENCED ALCOHOL MANUFACTURING, REVENUE
EVASION, AND OBJECTIONABLE MATERIAL
Since the last edition, there has been a wide variety of charges determined in the courts. A few
of those charges and their conclusions are set out below.
MANUFACTURING
ALCOHOL IN AN
UNLICENSED AREA
A man pleaded guilty in the
Timaru District Court to
manufacturing alcohol in an
unlicensed area and to defrauding
the Customs revenue to an amount
exceeding $4,000. The man was
sentenced to 200 hours community
work and ordered to pay reparation
for the duty evaded. An order
for destruction of the seized alcohol
and distilling equipment was
also made. The Judge described
the man’s conduct as particularly
serious, concerted offending.
In a similar but unrelated
case, a man admitted to
two Customs charges in the New
Plymouth District Court that also
related to manufacturing alcohol in
an unlicensed area and to defrauding
Customs revenue of over $3,000.
The man was sentenced to 150
hours community work on each of
the Customs charges concurrently.
The man also pleaded guilty to
Police charges under the Sale and
Liquor Act and in relation to drug
utensils and was sentenced to a
further 150 hours community work.
18 Contraband December 2010
REVENUE EVASION
A woman pleaded guilty
to doing an act for the
purpose of evading duty. The
woman undervalued the imported
goods and also produced a
fraudulently altered credit card
statement to support the
undervaluation. The woman was
discharged without conviction on
the basis that a conviction would
affect her ability to become a
licensed real estate agent for a
period of 10 years. However, she
was ordered to pay $1,000 towards
the prosecution costs.
A man was charged for
evading duty after presenting
a false invoice for an imported
lifeboat. The man agreed to
diversion and made a donation of
$500 to the Royal New Zealand
Coastguard. The charge was
then withdrawn.
OBJECTIONABLE MATERIAL
At Christchurch High
Court, an appeal against
sentence was heard for a man who
had been sentenced to two years’
imprisonment on 50 charges of
importing child exploitation
material. The defence argued that
the starting point should have been
lower because his client didn’t
distribute the material and that
home detention would have been
the appropriate sentence.
The sentence was upheld. His
Honour stated that the conduct is
very seriously treated by the Courts
and that there is a very real need
for deterrence in relation to this
type of offending.
An American citizen
imported a DVD containing
child sexual abuse material. The
person was arrested and charged for
knowingly importing objectionable
material. Pleading guilty, the man
was convicted and sentenced to five
days in custody, with the time that
he was remanded in custody
counting towards that sentence.
Entry was refused by Immigration.
SmartGate
SmartGate departures are now open at Auckland Airport
Holders of New Zealand and Australian
ePassports have the option of using
SmartGate when arriving at Auckland,
Christchurch, and Wellington Airports.
Passports with the international ePassport
symbol* are called ePassports. If you have this
symbol on your passport you will be able to use
SmartGate.
Now you can also use SmartGate when
departing at Auckland Airport. Christchurch
and Wellington will follow in 2011.
*All New Zealand passports issued after November 2005 and all
Australian passports issued after October 2005 are ePassports.
SmartGate offers you a simple and efficient
way to self-process through passport control
with an easy two-step process.
While New Zealand Customs is pleased to
offer you this option, you can still have your
ePassport manually checked if you prefer.
ePassport symbol
For more information visit www.customs.govt.nz
Using SmartGate to depart from Auckland Airport
1 STEP ONE
• Look for the SmartGate kiosk –
signs will help guide you.
• Place your ePassport into the
reader by simply following
the instructions on the screen.
• Answer the standard declaration
questions using the touch screen.
• The kiosk will issue you with a
SmartGate ticket, which you
will need for Step 2.
2 STEP TWO
• Proceed to the gate and insert
your SmartGate ticket.
• Look at the camera ahead of
you while your face is compared
to your ePassport photo.
• Retrieve your ticket and
proceed through the gate.
• Hand in your SmartGate
ticket and departure card, and
proceed through the Aviation
Security Service screening
point.
INTERNATIONAL
CUSTOMS DAY
DRUGS, GOODS,
AND ANIMALS
THE SMUGGLERS
DIDN’T WANT
YOU TO SEE.
An interesting, lively, and educational day of
activity for the whole family, including:
» counterfeit goods
» the kinds of unusual plants and animals that
smugglers attempt to trade illegally
» detector dog demonstrations
» x-ray machine displays
» exhibits showing the methods drug smugglers
use to try and beat border security.
CIVIC SQUARE, WELLINGTON
WEDNESDAY 26 JANUARY 2011
11AM – 3 PM
SEAFOOD FESTIVAL
VIADUCT HARBOUR, AUCKLAND
ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND
29, 30, 31 JANUARY, NOON – 7 PM