Thousands of weapons surrendered
No compensation for at least 3000 illegally owned firearms, says minister
About 3000 firearms have been marked for collection in the Government’s buyback scheme and are not eligible for compensation, Police Minister Stuart Nash says.
Police have seized an additional 1300 unlawful guns since March, many from gangs and people without firearms licences.
Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Mike Bush has indicated that he will not be revisiting the pricing list for the buyback scheme, which has been decried by some in the firearms community as unfair and in need of an overhaul.
Nash revealed the latest numbers at Trentham racecourse in Upper Hutt yesterday. He was observing procedures for the collection process.
Deputy Police Commissioner Mike Clement said safety was the main priority, and firearms would be crunched under a hydraulic press after being collected.
People eligible for compensation would be paid within 10 working days, but people could hand in any firearms under the amnesty and they won’t be prosecuted or have
to provide any personal details.
Clement said police had no real gauge on how many firearms would be surrendered at the collection points, but there was a “surge” plan whereby extra police officers could be called in for any reason.
More than 250 collection events have been organised for the next three months for people to hand in firearms made illegal by a new law, which banned most military-style, semi-automatic firearms and associated parts.
The Kiwi Party challenged the validity of the law in the High Court in an effort to push the law out until after the 2020 election, but the court tossed it out.
The first collection event will be on July 13 at Riccarton Racecourse in Christchurch. The amnesty runs until December 20.
Under the buyback scheme, only firearms obtained legally by someone with a valid firearms licence will be compensated.
Nash said more than 840 firearms had been handed to police.
“Owners have declared their intention to surrender almost 8000 further firearms, via online forms. Around 3000 of these weapons are not for compensation but are being surrendered as part of the amnesty.
“In addition more than 1300 unlawful firearms have been seized by police during enforcement operations since March. Many of these weapons are from gangs and offenders without firearms licences.”
The scheme has angered some in the firearms community, and the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners is collecting funds to mount a legal challenge.
John Herbert, who owns the online store New Zealand Repeating Arms and was part of the expert group that was consulted for the buyback scheme, said the pricing list was a “complete joke” in some cases and owners of collectables would feel ripped off.
Bush is the only person with the legal authority to amend the price list, but police did not answer whether he had any appetite to do so. Their statement only referred to changes to the list for items that were not currently on it.
“Once police are made aware a firearm is not on the price list and this is confirmed, a firearm will be entered into the system and price investigation undertaken. Should the investigation be successful, the firearm will be added to the price list, which will be updated and notified in and online.”
Nash has also pushed back on any suggestion that the price list should be changed, saying during Question Time last week that consultancy firm KPMG had consulted farmers, hunters, dealers, valuers, auctioneers, collectors and gun clubs.