Passenger cards

The Bulletin - 26 September 2002

Dear Sir/Madam

Paul Syvret's (Tourism Gap) attempts to draw parallels between border integrity and processing of Tourism Passenger Cards is very misleading.

Statistics gained from passenger cards are not used for the monitoring and control of individual arrivals and departures, and therefore have no effect on the security of Australia's borders.

Australia has one of the most sophisticated electronic border clearance processes in the world.

Data collected through these electronic clearance processes is available in real time and provides comprehensive information on overseas arrivals and departures. This information is readily available for border security and processing purposes.

Passenger cards provide additional information for the tourist industry on country of residence, purpose for visitors coming to Australia and intended duration of stay. This information is published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and used by the Tourism industry and other agencies for planning.

Stewart Foster
Director
Public Affairs
Dept of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs