Facing a trans-tasman borderless future

The discovery of unwanted Iraqis in New Zealand could not have come at a worse time for a high-powered group trying to make it easier to fly the Tasman. At a time when Australia requires assurances about New Zealand's border security, revelations that a former Iraqi ambassador and a former Cabinet minister were here was hardly good news.

Still, proponents of a common border around Australia and New Zealand are gaining momentum. Just last weekend, in Melbourne, Australasian business leaders unveiled an action plan to "streamline the border".

Key players on both sides of the Tasman believe the time is now right to capitalise on the surging growth of trade, tourism and investment to speed access between the countries.

If they can get their proposals off the ground, there may ultimately be a return to the times when New Zealanders did not need passports to cross the Tasman. But passports are not likely to be abandoned altogether in the medium term. The tighter international security arena post-September 11 has probably put paid to that rose-tinted scenario.

The Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum, which took place in Victoria's State Government House, has isolated some "quick wins".

Forum co-chairs Kerry McDonald (New Zealand) and Margaret Jackson (Australia) were authorised to write a joint letter to the two Governments to get traction on issues.

Jackson, who also chairs Australia's flagship airline Qantas, points to other nations that are similarly linked by trade agreements, such as North America's Nafta deal, and have easier border crossing arrangements.

"Americans can go to Canada and Mexico without a passport," says Jackson. "You can't do it today here. But if you have an aspiration, you can say, 'Why is it not possible that two countries which are only 24 million people together can't look at best practice for border protection so we can have easier movement of people'?"

On the working group's quick-win list are: joint lanes for New Zealand and Australian passport-holders at Australia's international airports, along the model that Australian passport holders already enjoy here; new technology to enable pre-arrival biosecurity risk assessment of passengers and their baggage; trusted traveller programmes, and advanced passenger pre-screening.

Moves to enable travellers from third countries to fly on to other Australasian destinations once they have cleared immigration at an international airport in either country are a long way off.

An earlier project to harmonise transtasman border policies and procedures (1992-1995) stalled, mainly because of immigration policy differences. New Zealand has visa-free arrangements with more than 50 countries. Australia requires all visitors - except New Zealanders, who have a special clearance on arrival - to apply for visas. Australian passport-holders get visa-free entry here.

And under an International humanitarian scheme, New Zealand also grants permanent residence to refugees who successfully achieve asylum status, and to large numbers of Pacific citizens under a Samoan Quota and Pacific Access scheme. At issue is whether Pacific Islanders would lose their preferential access scheme if New Zealand and Australia moved to joint rules.

The Australian side also has unstated concerns that New Zealand lacks sufficient access to international intelligence to maintain stronger border security.

Jackson maintains if the resources are used checking Australians coming into New Zealand and New Zealanders coming into Australia are freed, a lot of resources will be available to keep the border of Australia and New Zealand protected. "So from a security point of view you may actually increase security of this area."

But the Iraqi visa debacle reinforces perceptions that any attempt to "go all the way" will founder unless New Zealand adopts Australia's much tougher border security policies.

IN FACT, Foreign Ministers Alexander Downer (Australia) and Phil Goff (New Zealand) have already moved to enhance transtasman travel and border security. At their biannual meeting last December, they signed a deal allowing for improved security screening in a manner that minimises disruptions to genuine travellers. Proposals to New Zealand and Australian agencies on sharing security alert information are in train.

Given the apparent difficulties, the working group led by Air New Zealand chairman John Palmer and Tourism Holdings chief executive Denis Pickup has decided a "more idealistic common border vision" should not be on the table at present.

They have canvassed Government agencies, and Air New Zealand and Qantas have submitted a working paper. Talks are also planned with Auckland International Airport about possible trusted-traveller programmes and automated departure processes to ease that airport's congestion issues.

Driving their ambition is the 20 per cent increase in transtasman travel, which has surged on the back of increased transtasman business investment and cheaper air fares. There were one million visits from New Zealand to Australia last year; 900,000 Australian visits here.

About 350,000 New Zealand citizens live in Australia, with 80,000 New Zealanders visiting at any one time. Around 60,000 Australian citizens live here.

While the transtasman travel volumes are expected to reduce, they will still continue at relatively high levels, putting increased pressure on airline and customs facilities.

But some detractions exist which are not obvious at first blush, among them the prospect that New Zealanders and Australians crossing the Tasman will lose out on the ability to buy duty free goods, or the two Governments will lose out on GST.

Quarantine measures will still have to be applied, given the two countries' differing flora and fauna, although even on that score, advanced technology has already successfully passed a joint New Zealand-Australia trial.

"If implemented for transtasman flights, most passengers would not need to go through biosecurity screening on arrival," says Treasury.

The other major area under investigation is freighting across the Tasman. Containers take eight days from pack to unpack but it only takes 2.5 days to cross the Tasman.

The working group says over the medium term (2005-2010) progress should also be made to identify where time savings can be made and look at mechanisms to help smaller exporters from New Zealand.