NZ: Border levy for visitors
“The border clearance levy introduced in today’s Budget sends a signal to everyone coming here that we don’t take biosecurity lightly,” HortNZ president Julian Raine says.
“This announcement backs up what New Zealand’s commercial fruit and vegetable growers have been saying for a long time. Passengers need to take some of the responsibility for protecting our primary industries and our native species. Every passenger entering this country presents a risk that we must have systems in place to process and check. New Zealand taxpayers should not be covering this cost.”
HortNZ will contribute to the public consultation around the setting of the final figure, as announced by Ministers Guy and Wagner today.
“We will be pushing for a rate that appropriately reflects the true cost of the long term sustainable border protection that we need. The good thing about this levy is that as the number of visitors increases, so will the revenue it generates, to cover the increased cost of processing passengers and the risk they represent,” Julian says.
HortNZ notes the suggested $16 levy figure is still a long way off the $58 charged by Australia, a country with similar biosecurity requirements to our own.
HortNZ also welcomes the additional $24.9 million to be spent on enhancing our biosecurity border protection.
For more information:
Julian Raine
Horticulture New Zealand
Tel: +64 021 443 993.
Email: Leigh.Catley@hortnz.co.nz
www.hortnz.co.nz