Our Research Director Jane Falloon went to the International Mail Centre recently to observe and talk to Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Quarantine Officers as they carried out a re-inspection.
MPI are tasked with an annual verification of biosecurity compliance of international mail entering New Zealand. This requires a special team of Quarantine Officers to re-inspect a random selection of mail (parcels, letters, etc.) to check that nothing has got through our biosecurity control systems.
They rarely find anything that has been missed – resulting in a compliance rate of 99% being verified by the survey.
Research New Zealand is contracted to undertake an external verification of the MPI survey data over the next three years.
This includes re-calculating the data and observing the Officers in action to assess any risks that might compromise data accuracy.

As manager of our call centre Jill’s responsibilities include call quality and respondent experiences. In this regard, she sets the bar high. Jill brings to her role significant experience, including managing call centres with both inbound and outbound calling, in the public and particularly the private sector. Her passion is managing and supporting teams and especially by treating each person as an individual with a group target to aim for.
We asked some quickfire questions to find out more...

What gets you out of bed in the morning?
My dogs Fifi and Lily, jump around in the morning and want a walk. It’s like having two toddlers!

Given a chance, who would you like to be for a day?
Dr Siouxsie Wiles. She is amazing, so clever but also able to communicate at all levels and all demographics, so that people understand exactly what she is saying.

What’s your favourite quote from a film or a book or someone you admire?
I still love the movie ‘The Piano’. It has a bit of everything, history, love, lust and tragedy. The quote I like is: "At night I think of my piano in it’s ocean grave, and sometimes of myself floating above it. Down there everything is so still and silent that it lulls me to sleep. It is a weird lullaby and so it is: it is mine."

What's your guilty pleasure, something you like but shouldn’t?
They do these amazing doughnuts at Little Dough & Co. on Thursdays and Fridays, with new flavours each week…however I only allow myself one a month. I need some restraint though!

What gets you out of bed in the morning?
My children get me up in the morning: to prepare breakfast for them. My noodle soup is always their favourite! Raising children is a thing of pain and happiness.

Given a chance, who would you like to be for a day?
Master Zeng said, every day I examine myself on three counts, to guard against being guilty of any imposition. Life is short and I am not perfect nor that great, so I still want to be myself and keep examining myself every day.

What’s your favourite quote from a film or a book or someone you admire?
"The good things are not dead" - The Shawshank Redemption

What's your guilty pleasure, something you like but shouldn’t?
Drink Coca-Cola when kids are away. They always tell me not to drink it as it is bad for teeth.