Labour yields to gun demands
Plans to set up a gun register could be delayed for up to three years as the Government aims to establish an independent entity to take over firearms licensing and administration from the police.
The move is part of a suite of changes to the Arms Legislation Bill, which saw the Labour Party give in to most of NZ First’s demands.
However, the bill may not pass before the election, with NZ First MP Ron Mark saying the party was still ‘‘disappointed’’ with the outcome, which did not make exemptions for sporting shooters.
Stuff reported on Monday that the Government looked to push ahead with its gun reforms after a last-minute agreement was forged between Labour and NZ First.
It follows the revelation by Stuff that the March 15 terrorist was wrongly granted a firearms licence due to a string of police failures.
Progress on the bill, which included a firearms registry, harsher penalties, and a warning system to show if a licence holder is a fit and proper person, was mired in delay after NZ First signalled it had issues with it earlier this year.
In February, Mark signalled his party was moving away from supporting core aspects of the bill to protect the rights and privileges of legitimate firearms owners.
Yesterday, Mark said the party had given its word to Labour that it would support the bill passing. ‘‘We’ll do our best, but I can’t guarantee that,’’ Mark said.
‘‘It would be fair to say that passing the bill was going to be a work in progress – probably after the election.’’
He took satisfaction that Labour agreed that police were not the best people to be administering firearms law going forward and there was a conflict of interest, he said.
Police Minister Stuart Nash announced there had been agreement to set up a new entity – something like the NZTA.
‘‘I would not say it was pressure [from NZ First]. I think we have worked very constructively with the NZ First caucus to land on this.’’
He was more than happy for NZ First to take credit and say they had ‘‘worked absolutely constructively’’ as a coalition.
The idea of an independent authority was first proposed by Justice Sir Thomas Thorp in 1997, he said.
The entity will move some accountability for the Arms Act regulatory functions from police and would require standalone legislation and a dedicated budget.
‘‘It’s important there is confidence in the administration and licensing of firearms laws, so police can focus on enforcement.’’
More time would be needed to establish the registry because of the need to design and set up a standalone entity to administer the licensing system.
It will come into force in three years, rather than two years, after the Act comes into force.
But Nash said he ‘‘clearly’’ told Police Commissioner Andrew Coster on Monday that three years was not a target – it was the end point.
The independent firearms advisory group will be appointed by the police minister rather than the police commissioner.
Nash said work was now under way on the design and framework for the agency and a report will go back to Cabinet with options before the end of the year.