The National Party claims its new firearms policy will make Kiwis safer, while ensuring they can use firearms for legitimate reasons.
The party’s hunting and fishing spokesperson Todd McClay says that firearms are vital for many people, especially those in rural areas, to maintain their environment, enjoy social activities like hunting and shooting sports, and for some, to put food on the table.
“There is a real difference between those Kiwis who are licensed and have a duty to use firearms responsibly and safely, and those who do not hold a licence and use firearms for crime,” McClay says.
The policy will give Police greater powers to search for illegal firearms and confiscate them from gangs and criminals who pose a risk to public safety.
It will shift statutory responsibility for developing, administering, and implementing firearms law and policy to the Ministry of Justice, a move the party claims will allow Police to focus on enforcement and gun crime.
Additionally, the policy will see improved support for firearms safety and outdoor training courses to help those who use firearms lawfully, and give the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) a formal role in the development of firearms policy.
However, Act Party firearms law reform spokesperson Nicole McKee says the policy doesn’t go far enough.
She argues that reviewing and tinkering with the current laws won’t fix the issues they’ve created or make up for what she describes as the “poor treatment licensed firearms owners have had over recent years”.
“ACT says there needs to be completely new firearms laws,” McKee says.
“What’s needed are immediate changes to address safety concerns, and taking the focus away from punishing law abiding firearms owners and instead hammering criminals,” she says.
“New Zealanders for whom firearms are a tool, a sport, an investment in history, and a way of sourcing food, have been treated unfairly with sweeping changes to firearms laws and the confiscation of private property.”
