Slamming aircraft doors on fine dodgers

The days are numbered for fine dodgers who skip the country to escape their debts.

From September 28, new legislation will be used to stop anyone from boarding an overseas flight who has a warrant against their name for $5000 or more in unpaid court fines, or who owes any reparation to victims of crime,.

Until now, those with arrest warrants for fines and reparation could freely leave New Zealand. Any New Zealanders travelling overseas who owe $1000 or more in fines will trigger a "silent alert", and their updated details will be passed by border authorities to the Ministry of Justice.

Over time, the thresholds would be lowered to target a much broader group of fine defaulters, said Courts Minister Rick Barker.

"We have had quite a number of people who have owed reparations and fines who have simply left New Zealand to dodge their responsibilities," Mr Barker said.

"And the New Zealand public, like myself, have got sick of this. If you can afford an overseas trip, you can afford to pay the reparation you owe to the victims." A publicity campaign has begun to inform people about the new "pay or stay" policy before the big fine dodgers are stopped from boarding flights.

"These are the very serious fine defaulters. The person will have to pay the full amount at the airport, or come to a very satisfactory arrangement to pay before they will be allowed to leave the country."

The new policy stems from the Courts and Criminal Matters Bill, passed by Parliament recently, which allows greater information sharing between the Customs and Immigration services and the Ministry of Justice.

"We have had to set our initial threshold relatively high, because we have just got to make sure that we can run the system 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at every airport," said Mr Barker.

Barry Wilson, spokesman for the Auckland Council for Civil Liberties, was concerned mistakes could affect legitimate travellers.

"The authorities had better be very careful that the information with which they stop people is absolutely correct. As a lawyer, I have seen enough cases of mistaken identity at an airport to have a genuine concern."