29944 (2025). Hon Jenny Salesa to the Minister of Customs

29944 (2025). Hon Jenny Salesa to the Minister of Customs: How many shipping containers transited through Central America and arrived in New Zealand between 1 January 2024 and 30 April 2025, and how many of those were inspected by Customs either physically or with technology?

Hon Casey Costello: I am advised that the New Zealand Customs Service (Customs) screens and risk assesses 100 percent of goods into New Zealand using a layered and multi-faceted approach. This includes but is not limited to, intelligence received from domestic and international partner agencies, scanning of all electronic entries, manual validation of high-profile shipments, x-rays, detector dogs and physical inspections by Customs officers. Customs does not record data regarding the number of containers from specific locations and the number of interactions with containers in the way the Member has requested. As such, this information cannot be collated without substantial collation. I do not consider this use of officials’ time to be in the public interest.