I have recently flown between NZ And Australia, and have had the Agriculture video play on all flights, interrupting AVOD. The only exception would be a recent DJ flight, where the announcements were instead made on the PA system, immediately prior to descent. I suppose if the OP was flying DJ and was distracted at the time of announcement (reading a book, listening to music etc), the announcement would have gone unheard. However, I don't understand how the numerous signs, bins and warnings posted throughout the airport could have gone unnoticed.

I wonder how the OP has made it through to MAF/customs without a declaration form. Whenever I return to NZ from overseas, several officers ask to see the form before I actually reach the x-rays. At each stage, the form is returned, unless you are told you may exit customs/MAF and enter NZ. This may have been the point at which the OP has lost his declaration form.

Controversially, some low risk Australian and NZ citizens are not required to undergo bag screening, if the first officer deems them to not be of any risk. This is supposed to be a cost-cutting measure (IMHO if a subway station in China can afford to run these machines for millions of passengers a day, then so should NZ Customs). However, if anything (food, money, whatever) is declared, then the passenger will always undergo bag x-rays. For argument's sake, perhaps the OP (in)correctly failed to declare food, which may have allowed him to exit without further screening.

If a dog picked up the fruit (yes, AKL does have fruit sniffing dogs) or if the OP went into the wrong line for x-raying, then this situation may have occurred.

Let's look at this situation from a completely objective viewpoint:

• OP entered MAF with fruit in his possession
• OP did not have a declarations form
• OP was fined NZD400

If everything occurred as the OP says, the OP is rather unlucky that they were fined. However, MAF has done no wrong in this situation, and is only following the letter of the law.

From what MAF has seen, the OP has attempted to bring fruit (a highly controlled import) into New Zealand, and has not produced a declaration form. These two steps are all that is needed for MAF to slap down a fine.

My advice: Pay the fine. The NZ government has begun hiring debt collector agencies in Australia and UK. The last thing you want is a debt collector bothering you, however unlikely you may think it is to happen.