Govt steps in as firearms licences renewals surge

The Government will legislate to stop firearms licences from expiring as gun owners wait for police to process renewal applications. According to Police Minister Chris Hipkins, some 2000 firearms licences have expired as police struggle to get through 9000 licence applications. Hipkins said: ‘‘The current demand for new firearms licence applications is currently outstripping police’s capacity to process the application and issue a new licence before the previous licence expires. Some firearms licence holders are unable to comply with the law due to no fault of their own. These numbers are expected to increase rapidly as police anticipate an upcoming peak in demand.’’ The change to the law would also change the start date of a renewed licence to be when the licence was approved, instead of when the prior licence expired, in the hope of staggering licence renewals. A ‘‘minor technical change’’ would allow police to email certain documents to firearms owners, instead of sending them by post as required by law. The Arms (Licence Holders’ Applications for New Licences) Amendment Bill would have its first reading in the House on Tuesday.