Police aim for gun law changes
Changes to the gun laws could be on the cards amid police concerns gaps in current firearms legislation are being exploited.
In a briefing to Police Minister Stuart Nash, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said firearms were a ‘‘key legislation and policy matter’’ that needed to be addressed.
‘‘Criminal activity, combined with changing technology and marketing, have highlighted additional gaps in the legislation which, when exploited, have safety implications,’’ Bush said.
The gaps also presented administrative challenges and police were forced to rely on the ‘‘overall purpose’’ of the act to inform decisions, in the absence of explicit legislation.
Bush said the previous government ‘‘signalled its intention to deal with these issues’’ through two pieces of legislation - the Arms Amendment Bill and an Arms Amendment Bill.
The Arms Amendment Bill was first introduced by the Labour-led government in 2005. Since then the proposed law had stagnated.
‘‘In the interim, there have been substantial changes in the legal and illegal civilian armoury,’’ the briefing said.
New Zealand had relatively high levels of firearm ownership for recreational, sporting and employment purposes.
‘‘This means we need to balance reasonable compliance duties on law-abiding firearms users with safeguards that protect New Zealanders from illegal firearm possession and criminal use.’’
The previous minister agreed to introduce firearms prohibition orders (FPOs) for a small group of the most serous and violent offenders, Bush said.
The number of firearms-related incidents in New Zealand accounted for about 1.4 per cent of all violent crime.
The overriding majority of firearms users in New Zealand were law abiding, a law and order committee report said, but more work needed to be done to reduce the flow of firearms to criminals, gangs, and those who did not have a licence, without unfairly impinging on law-abiding firearms users.
Bush said there was more that could be done to keep Kiwis safe and ensure public trust and confidence in the firearms regime, which included modernising the legislation.
Nash said he had had discussions with police, and they acknowledged there was work to be done, both to strengthen how the Arms Act was administered and to build the trust and confidence of New Zealanders regarding firearms.
Nash said he would continue working with police and other interested parties on how best to address the issues of safety and fair administration of firearms law, including considering law changes.
If police recommended changes to legislation and revisiting the Arms Amendment Bill, Nash would ‘‘consult closely with coalition and Government partners before making a decision’’.
‘‘I am receiving information from the community that some people have concerns the Arms Act is not being applied consistently across the country.’’
Nash said he expected to be able to talk further about the Government’s direction next year.