TRANS-TASMAN MINISTERIAL TALKS
SYDNEY
22 November 2006
Ministers Commend Active Trans Tasman Customs Cooperation
The Ministers for Customs in Australia and New Zealand, Senator the Hon Chris Ellison and the Hon Nanaia Mahuta met in
Sydney, Australia, on 22 November 2006 to discuss trans-Tasman supply chain security, passenger facilitation, joint
intelligence operations and customs capacity building in the Pacific.
The Australian and New Zealand Customs Services agreed today to work towards a Trans-Tasman Supply Chain Security
Arrangement.
“This provides an opportunity to test the benefits of a supply chain security arrangement for Australian and New Zealand
trade”, said Senator Ellison. “The Customs Services will commence a trial with a small group of trans-Tasman traders.”
“In the event of a security incident affecting trans-Tasman trade, the impact on participating companies would be
minimised”, said Nanaia Mahuta.
Ministers also noted the potential to develop joint approaches for automated passenger processing to speed up
trans-Tasman travel for Australian and New Zealand citizens.
Australia will be introducing next year a biometric-based automatic processing system for Australian citizens holding an
electronic passport. It was agreed today to explore including New Zealand as the first international participants in
this initiative. New Zealand indicated that it also is investigating options for similar automated border crossing.
Ministers acknowledged the excellent cooperation between the two Customs administrations. “Last month’s seizure of 27
kilos of cocaine from two cargo ships was an excellent example of our administrations working together across the
Tasman,” said Senator Ellison.
The two Customs Services agreed to pursue joint intelligence sharing to target key border risks, particularly to combat
the illicit diversion of precursors used in the manufacture of amphetamine-type stimulants.
The Ministers noted recent events in the Pacific underscored the importance of the ongoing work of Australia and New
Zealand in supporting customs modernisation initiatives with our Pacific partners, including the significant
contribution to capacity building with Tongan Customs. “This is of fundamental importance to border control and trade
facilitation in our region”, said Hon Nanaia Mahuta. It was agreed today to take further steps to strengthen the Oceania
Customs Organisation. In pursuit of this, it was agreed to initiate a Pacific-based training program for senior customs
officials.
ENDS