Couldn't you smell your 2 week old banana rofl!!! No wonder the dog picked it up !!!! Seriously though you are right, does sound like revenue gathering doesn't it!

It's not like most people don't already know, we are talking about basic human error. I know full well, for example, that I am not allowed to carry dangerous pointy objects about my person, or in my hand luggage, yet how many times have I been found with nail scissors, tweezers, a tube of toothpaste or some insect bite cream in my handbag and had them confiscated. All the signs in the world would not have stopped this occuring, because I quite simply either did not realise they were there or had forgotten all about them.

When you land on the tarmac in Thailand or Malaysia, you get quite a chilling reminder that you face the death penalty for carrying drugs into the country. It always makes me feel awful, even though I know I don't have drugs and am not likely ever to have. A similar verbal reminder about the consequences of being found to be carrying apples and bananas on arrival in NZ would not go amiss.

You can find loads of information about NZ custom requirements in German. Most people just don't bother to read it. But still $400 for a honest mistake is very harsh.

Little hint that I've posted often on the Australia forum - when you pack/before you do the flight, write a list of everything you have that MIGHT need declaring. If you pick up stuff en route, add it to the list and keep the list with your passport. When you enter the country and they ask what you've got, produce the list
Usually goes down well cos it shows you're aware of the rules, and it also avoids the problem of trying to remember what you have with you. I love the flight, but even I won't rely on my memory being good enough after 24 hours to not overlook something at the last minute.

Primarily because there was no one around to ask until it was too late and it had already gone in the bin because we didn't know what to do in our tirendess after a 30 hour trip As said before, it just isn't clear from the offset - it said in screaming headlines honey wasn't ok and it wasn't till much later it said so long as it was sealed honey it would be fine. As Shirl has said, you aren't normally thinking clearly and one doesn't equate an apple in quite the same way as a bag of heroin, for example, if you aren't used to biosecruity rules.

There doesn't seem like a good solution to this issue. If MAF treat people leniently then the message gets out that it really doesn't matter if you have the odd piece of fruit. The only way then to avoid items getting into the country is to search everyone.

I have a lot of sympathy for people that are tired after long journeys and in isolation a $400 dollar fine is a lot for a simple mistake - but people are perversely stubborn sometimes. For every innocent victim there will be someone who brings in something stupid because they think they have a god given right to ignore the rules. The bottom line is that most people don't have a clue about bio-security, we simply don't understand the seriousness of the issue and we don't like being told what to do.

I've been watching border-control and passport control on the TV a lot lately. It's amazing what people try to bring in when they have declared that they don't have anything. Last time I went to NZ I was in the passport queue scoffing the last of my wrapped sweets just in case....

I think the airlines could do a lot more to help avoid accidental incidents. They provide fruit in flight - I think they should warn you clearly that it MUST be consumed on the plane. Same with tour guides, I've seen a whole group of people fined for having fruit. The tour operator not only should have known this was a possibility but also spoke the language of the group involved and would have had plenty of opportunity to communicate with their customers.

Just one piece of contaminated food could destroy whole sections of the NZ economy. That's not just government money, that's people's jobs and livelihoods. Remember the Irish potato famine!?

This is an interesting link for people that want to learn more.


WP

If a person ignores the rules of a country then they should be fined. Good to hear border control is working.

Yes but it is not fair if one person is fined and another let off for the same thing is it. That is discrimination!

I dont think anyone would disagree that the Bio controls need to be very tough..

What seems to be lacking is a level playing field sometimes friendly advise is given and other times a fine is issued.

It does seem strange to punish someone for a genuine mistake. If good are hidden in luggage then fair enough but it does seem harsh to punish someone for an obvious error.

I certainly hope you dont ever find yourself in a position of power not everything in life is black and white

Or have i just taken the Troll Bait again

I Know

A very interesting point Shirl. I was Plod a few years back and we were always told discretion was our biggest tool. I can see your argument but then if we all followed our jobs to the letter of the law where would we be then..a bunch of jobsworths. I got off a $150 stop fine my mate did not in NZ. (I have learned from that in a big way and 5 yrs on NEVER ever ignore a stop sign..even if its clear..even on my cycle. Lesson learned.)


By contrast there is loads I have NOT gotten away with that others have. Life is a bitch in ain't fair and shit happens. I personally agree with the sentiment that bio security (like drink drive for example) should be enforced punatively with the odd exceptions where discretion could be used like no signs in their lingo or some other such extenuating circumstance.

But in the main we all have to be accountable and some things are soooooooooooooooooo serious drastic measures are needed.

Ha ha no i had eaten the banana 2 weeks prior there was no trace of it in my bag except obviously the scent of it was still there.

I think the whole thing with this is the fact that majority of us wouldnt unwittingly bring these items into any country. I know my son was mortified that he had made the mistake but that was exactly what it was a mistake due to having a one yr old with a tummy bug for a week you can imagine how many sleepless nights they had and they just simply forgot it was there due to tiredness...

I am not sure how the actual tariff is worked out as they had 2 apples...But i do understand why the controls are there as i am sure we all do. Maybe there could be a job there for some elderly retired people to be reminding people as they come off the plane to double check their hand luggage....Although i have to say i have arrived at a border before and declared wedding cake they looked at me like i had 2 heads......

I hope your friend enjoys his holiday despite his lighter wallet!

A funny story related to bringing fruit and unwanted items in to NZ... When my friends emigrated here 5 years ago, they were pulled aside by customs saying that there were apples detected in their luggage according to the x-ray (not the dogs tho!). They were made to unpack and pull out the offending items. No, they weren't apples but juggling balls in the shape of breasts with nipples which must have looked like apples on the scanner!! Unbeknown to my friends, these 'unwanted items' had been put in their case by a joker of a relative

He will enjoy his holiday to some extent as we felt obliged to cough up the $400!!!!!