NEW ZEALAND'S BORDER SECURITY TIGHTEN

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A new agreement between Canada and New Zealand will see the country's border security strengthened. The agreement is part of a Five Country Conference (FCC) biometric programme involving immigration authorities from New Zealand, Canada the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

• Immigration minister Jonathan Coleman said it will give New Zealand officials greater tools to detect identity fraud, as well as process genuine travellers faster by checking fingerprint details, when needed, with their Canadian counterparts.
• ''The ability to check biometric data with international partners will help INZ [Immigration New Zealand] identify people using false identities
• "Organised crime groups and illegal migrants are being targeted.
• ''Organised crime groups and illegal migrants are increasingly using identity and passport fraud to evade detection."'' he said today.
• The agreement also means that information on asylum claimants and illegal migrants can be accessed from the other four countries, when people provide no identification.
• ''This initiative will help Canadian and New Zealand immigration authorities work together to identify immigration fraud and previous deportees who are trying to re-enter our respective countries without permission," says Jason Kenney, minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

All arrangements conform with the respective Privacy Acts of member countries, and fingerprints of the citizens of FCC countries will not be shared, said Coleman.
INZ signed similar agreements with Australia and the UK last year.

Source TVNZ