8. DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) Link to this
to the Minister of Customs
What progress has the Government made on streamlining trans-Tasman travel?
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (Minister of Customs) Link to this
We have made absolutely excellent progress. Yesterday at Wellington International Airport I officially launched the SmartGate automated border clearance processing system for holders of New Zealand and Australian passports. This is the second New Zealand—
Hon Annette KingHon MAURICE WILLIAMSON Link to this
Annette King keeps calling out and asking where her invitation was. I can tell the member that I checked and she got one, yet not one Labour member came, and for that I am sorry.
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON Link to this
That member got an invitation; I checked. This is the second New Zealand international airport to install the SmartGate system, after it was launched for passengers arriving at Auckland. The system has made arrival processing much quicker and easier. A survey found that 94 percent of all people surveyed rated SmartGate as either nine out of 10, or 10 out of 10.
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON Link to this
The good news keeps coming. The SmartGate system at Auckland Airport has absolutely outperformed everyone’s expectation. It has enjoyed a rapid uptake by travellers, with around 50 percent of eligible New Zealand passport holders now using it. More than 190,000 people have been processed through it. The average time for processing a passenger through the electronic SmartGate is 22 seconds—22 seconds. It is fantastic. Auckland Airport has achieved this level of uptake in just its first 4 months of operation; it took Australian airports more than 4 years to get to the same level.