Outcome: Protection

New Zealand is protected, at the border, from the entry, or exit, of people, craft, goods, Māori taonga and other treasured items, where the entry or exit may pose a material risk to our national interests.

KEY IMPACTS 

› Harm to New Zealand and its interests is avoided
› Illegal border activity is deterred. 

WHAT ARE WE SEEKING TO ACHIEVE?

Customs works with other agencies to effectively protect New Zealand from major threats and risks to New Zealand’s health, safety and security, and our values posed by the entry to and exit from New Zealand of a range of things. We protect New Zealand from harm by detecting and deterring illegal border activity. In doing so, we help to preserve New Zealand’s economic and social interests both within New Zealand and overseas. Customs also protects against threats to the Crown revenue base from those who do not comply with their revenue obligations. Additionally, Customs acts at the border to protect legitimate rights holders against illegal use through counterfeiting their products or merchandising their brand names.⁷

Customs’ outcomes of Protection, Facilitation, and Revenue are interconnected. Desired impacts sought for the Protection outcome need to be balanced against the impacts sought for the other two.

While it is important to protect both New Zealand and the Government’s revenue base from threats and risks, we cannot do so in a way that causes undue disruption to trade and travel, or causes otherwise viable businesses to fail. We need to balance our priorities and resources in such a way that does not incur unnecessary or unsustainable economic and social costs.

WHY IS THIS OUTCOME IMPORTANT?
 
As an active member of the international community, New Zealand needs to ensure we are protected from anyone and anything that seeks to undermine our economic, social, and environmental goals. Our reputation as a safe, secure, and trustworthy country to travel to and trade with is critical to New Zealand’s ability to compete on the world stage. Countries seek trading partners that are not corrupt, and are safe and secure for their citizens to travel to and do business with. Customs and other border agencies are tasked with protecting New Zealand at the border and maintaining New Zealand’s international reputation.

Customs’ operating environment has become more complex. Trans-national organised criminal syndicates operate internationally without boundaries. Criminal activity is more sophisticated, and technology is changing rapidly. New Zealand will continue to be challenged by major threats and risks. We do not want terrorism and weapons of mass destruction in our country, yet we are not safe from these threats. Illicit drug trafficking has increased in New Zealand as it has for other countries. The global economic downturn is taking effect in New Zealand. Consequently, Customs expects to see a rise in illegal activities, represented by more smuggling, fraud, and Intellectual Property Rights infringements.

TERRORISM AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

Terrorism and its links to trade and travel is a major global threat. As a responsible global citizen, New Zealand supports and contributes to the work of other nations against terrorism and other threats to security. Continued instability in the Pacific also poses a risk to the security of the broader region – as trans-national criminal groups seek to exploit comparative security weaknesses.

Customs and other agencies within the external sector protect New Zealand from these threats. Customs’ efforts include membership of the Operational Experts Group within the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) – which counters weapons of mass destruction proliferation. 

ILLICIT DRUGS

New Zealanders’ health and safety is threatened by illicit drug trafficking and precursors used in locally manufacturing illicit drugs such as Crystal Methamphetamine or ‘P‘. Violent crime, theft, and other crimes against communities are closely associated with illicit drugs. The frequency of interceptions of both precursors and illicit drugs has increased, and numbers of multikilo interceptions remain high.

Trans-national criminal syndicates are using more complex smuggling methods. These methods require more innovation and agility by Customs and other law enforcement agencies to counter effectively. Detecting precursor and illicit drug trafficking, and where needed, identifying, tracking and linking individuals to criminal syndicates, demands effective intelligence. Complex illicit drug and precursor chemical markets, and associated criminal syndicates, place pressure on Customs’ resources and capabilities to counter. 

INCREASING ECONIMIC CRIME 

Customs anticipates an increase in economic crime at the border as a result of the economic downturn – in areas such as Intellectual Property Rights infringements, revenue evasion, and Smuggling.

Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) offending is a global problem. The illegal trade in counterfeit products also funds international terrorism and trans-national criminal enterprise. IPR infringements threaten health and safety from products such as fake medicines. It also undermines a fair trade environment, causing economic harm to legitimate businesses – particularly posing a threat to market share and private sector research and development.

Smuggling
Smuggling presents a risk to community safety, the environment, and the Government’s revenue base. Especially smuggling of prohibited goods – such as objectionable material; unsafe goods; smuggling of controlled goods, such as firearms; and fraud through under-valuation and mis-description of goods in trade. Smuggling endangered wildlife threatens the survival of endangered flora and fauna, both overseas and in New Zealand.⁸

Customs will continue to enforce border controls against IPR violations by detaining infringing goods on behalf of rights holders. We will also enforce border controls against smuggling, and prosecute offenders where necessary. The expected increase in these activities in the current economic climate will place increasing pressure on our enforcement capability. 

TRADE SECURITY

New Zealand’s reputation as a secure and trustworthy nation to trade with is important to our ability to compete internationally. Customs will continue to seek integration, on a bilateral basis, with key trading partners, to minimise the costs on trade from increased security requirements. We will also have to respond to requirements imposed unilaterally by some major trading partners, to ensure New Zealand’s trade is not disadvantaged.

WHAT WILL WE DO TO ACHIEVE THIS OUTCOME?

Protecting the border effectively stems from our understanding of the overall risk environment, good, timely information and intelligence about threats and risks, and effective systems to anticipate, assess, and mitigate risks. These are delivered through services in nine of the 10 Output Classes for Vote Customs.⁹

Customs Priority





⁷ Customs protects New Zealand against counterfeiting, referred to as Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) infringements.
⁸ Within New Zealand, the Department of Conservation implements and administers the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Customs is responsible for enforcing border controls based on the Trade in Endangered Species Act 1989, and works with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry as part of the Wildlife Enforcement Group.
⁹ The Protection outcome is delivered through the following output classes: Policy advice; Intelligence and risk assessment services; Clearance of international passengers, crew, and craft; Clearance of import, export and excise transactions; Revenue collection, Accounting and debt management; Surveillance, search and containment; Investigation of offences; Prosecutions and civil proceedings; and National Maritime Coordination Centre. See Facilitation and Revenue outcomes also.