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The Past Year at a Glance


In 2007/08, Customs has continued to contribute to the outcomes of Trade and Tourism Support, Crown Revenue, Border Security, Community Protection and Border Management Assurance. Highlights include:

Trade and Tourism Support

  • 4.52 million arriving air passengers were processed, 95% within 45 minutes of arrival of their aircraft, while we continued to work on methods to improve passenger facilitation
  • facilitating a total of 43.8 million import transactions and 30 million export transactions
  • signing of a trade security Mutual Recognition Arrangement with Japan
  • input to the trade negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement with China together with the development and signing of a revised Customs Co-operative Arrangement with China, and work on implementing those agreements
  • advice on the customs aspects of trade negotiations with ASEAN and the Gulf Co-operation Council.

Crown Revenue

  • increased collection of revenue, totalling $9.256 billion.

Border Security

  • Customs’ contribution to the Proliferation Security Initiative, an international initiative under which participating countries cooperate to prevent illicit shipments of weapons of mass destruction and their materials, by organising a multi-nation, multi-agency exercise to be held in Auckland in September 2008
  • participation in work relating to the establishment of the new Organised and Financial Crime Agency of New Zealand and the content of the related Organised Crime Strategy.

Community Protection

  • continuing to protect New Zealand through interceptions of illicit drugs, particularly increasing amounts of methamphetamine precursors (a total of 569 seizures of 628 kilograms of precursors), while responding to increasingly complex offender methods
  • enforcement of border controls against Intellectual Property Rights violations by intercepting counterfeit goods at the border.

Border Management Assurance

  • the border sector agencies strengthened their cooperation, with a highlight being agreement on a border sector collaboration strategy and work programme to be progressed from July 2008
  • as part of Customs’ involvement in the international customs community, the Comptroller of Customs was elected Chairperson of the World Customs Organization
  • continued development of our relationship with Australia through the High Level Steering Group that enhances cooperation over issues affecting both countries
  • Customs continued to focus on and contribute to building capability in the Pacific through enhancing relationships with other customs administrations, including providing particular assistance to the Cooks Islands, and supporting the Oceania Customs Organisation.
 
Highlights relating to building Customs’ Organisational Health and Capability in 2007/08 were:

  • considerable progress was made in the preparation of the Stage 1 business case for replacement of Customs’ electronic border management system
  • the institution of the New Zealand Customs Service Medal was approved by Her Majesty the Queen and awarded to the first group of eligible Customs officers
  • Customs implemented a programme of initiatives to address the sustainability of resources
  • a programme was introduced to build Customs’ policy capability
  • continued development of our leadership capability through a range of mechanisms to provide leadership opportunities to staff.