People smuggling measures passed, rumours of boats coming

4.00pm

The Government today passed legislation to deal with people smugglers amid rumours boatloads of asylum seekers could be on their way to New Zealand.

Among the measures passed today were new penalties meaning people smugglers could face jail terms of up to 20 years and fines of $500,000.

The legislation was passed unopposed as Parliament sat today under urgency.

It was introduced following the Tampa episode last August when 438 asylum seekers were plucked by the Norwegian freighter from a sinking wooden ferry carrying them from Indonesia to Australia. New Zealand took 131 asylum seekers whom Australia refused to take.

There were suggestions yesterday two boatloads of asylum seekers could be on their way to New Zealand. However, the Government scotched the claims. One boat, carrying about 34 possibly Vietnamese, was said to be too small and rickety to make it here. Foreign Affairs Minister Mr Goff yesterday said the other, a larger boat capable of carrying about 300 people, had not recruited enough people to set sail.

The Transnational Organised Crime Bill, which also included additional powers for authorities dealing with asylum seekers, was today split into several pieces of legislation.

Other measures include extending the search and seizure powers of New Zealand police to 24 nautical miles off the coast and harsh penalties for people misusing New Zealand passports.

Mr Goff said the Passport Act had been amended, allowing passports to be confiscated and people banned from applying for passports for up to 10 years where the courts found they had been selling their passports to criminals so they could be misused.

Legislation also includes new fines for employers if they employ illegal immigrants.

Mr Goff told Parliament today the purpose of these bills was to give New Zealand the ability to ratify the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, the protocol against the smuggling of migrants, and the protocol to prevent, suppress and punish people trafficking.

"Not only is that our obligation in order to be a good international citizen, it is necessary because the trafficking of persons and the smuggling of people has become a major international crime activity that is worth about US$10 billion ($20.73 billion) a year."

Mr Goff said there was a risk of people being smuggled by sea to New Zealand but this country's geographic isolation meant it had so far been protected from that. However, New Zealand could not be complacent.

- NZPA