News and insight into biometric identification and authentication

New Zealand calls for free biometrics for travelers

Friday, May 15, 2009

As legislation in the New Zealand government dealing with the collection of biometric data such as fingerprints, iris and facial scans at New Zealand’s airports nears passing, Tourism Industry Association Chief Executive Tim Cossar has aired his insistence that costs should not be put on the traveler, according to a Radio New Zealand News article.

Cossar’s main worries are that forcing visitors to pay for their own security checks could be damaging two-fold to tourism. First, would be the reaction form visitors having to actually pay. Second would be how the actual process of taking care of these issues would be counter-intuitive to the idea that implementing biometrics at airports will speed-up check-in not create new lines of people. Immigration New Zealand expects that the systems could be in place as early as 2011 if the legislation passes.

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Sagem Sécurité’s SmartGate, an automated border control system using facial recognition, is now available at Auckland International Airport in New Zealand.

Accessible to New Zealand and Australian e-passport holders, SmartGate identifies travelers in real time using facial recognition from the photo stored in the chip of the ePassport, allowing for quicker processing of international travelers.

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India’s Social Welfare Department has implemented the Beggars Personal Management System to track beggars using biometrics. This effort is to fight recent large-scale deaths and mismanagement within colonies, according to a Deccan Herald article.

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New Zealand’s Department of Labour is looking at using biometrics to securely authenticate the identity of New Zealand visa holders crossing borders, according to a Reseller News article.

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The New Zealand Labour Department had concerns over the country’s customs department purchase of SmartGate technology, according to a news report from Timaru Herald. The SmartGate technology enables Australian and New Zealand travelers with electronic passport to have expedited processing through customs.

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In a recent webinar hosted by transportation and defense industry consultant firm IHS Jane, experts weighed in on biometric usage specific to border control applications, what can be expected as a next step and what it means for travelers, according to a Transitional article.

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New Zealand, in conjunction with the Australian government, has begun utilizing fingerprint biometric checks of immigrants entering the country in an effort to improve border security and curb identity fraud, according to a TVNZ article.

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