Committee’s inaugural members include Wellington-based lawyers Gordon Davis, Digby Livingston
Paul Goldsmith, justice minister, has appointed eight inaugural members of the Firearms Licensing Review Committee, launched under the Arms Act 2026, for initial 18-month terms beginning on 31 August 2026.
“Every member brings firearms experience, alongside a strong range of legal, regulatory, public safety, clinical, and community expertise,” said Nicole McKee, associate justice minister, who announced the appointments.
The review committee, chaired by Judge Robert Spear, also comprised Louise Christensen, Gordon Davis, Joe Green, Mike Keefe QSM, Melissa Jackson, Digby Livingston, and Tracey Wakeford.
“The Review Committee has been deliberately appointed with a breadth of experience that means it understands both the responsibilities that come with firearms ownership and the practical realities of New Zealand’s firearms community,” McKee said in the news release.
The government’s news release provided more information on the review committee members.
A District Court judge in Hamilton since 1995, Robert Spear expects to retire his judicial warrant in October. He chairs the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority and the Victims’ Special Claims Tribunal. Previously a firearms licence owner, he has engaged in recreational hunting.
A Wellington-based lawyer, Gordon Davis has worked on civil and criminal law matters as a private practitioner. He was chief legal counsel for the then State Services Commission and the Civil Aviation Authority. He previously held a firearms licence for over five decades.
Based in Rotorua, Mike Keefe is a judicial justice of the peace, a District Licensing Committee member, and a Human Rights Review Tribunal member. He was a police officer and a district arms officer. He is a firearms licence holder and a hunter.
A Wellington-based lawyer, Digby Livingston is director and a member of the Human Rights Review Tribunal. A licensed firearms owner, he was one of the inaugural Borrin Foundation community law fellows.
Based in Taumarunui, Melissa Jackson is a legally trained local government manager and firearms safety leader. She is a hunting instructor for a local community trust that centres on ethical hunting and te ao Māori practices.
An Ashburton resident, Louise Christensen is a hunter and sporting clay shooter.
Living on the Kapiti Coast, Joe Green represented the Firearms Safety Council on the Firearms Community Advisory Forum from 2016–26.
Based in Northland, Tracy Wakeford is a clinical psychologist.
McKee also announced the appointment of Dr Kelvin Watson as the inaugural chief executive of Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand (FSENZ), an independent firearms regulator under the new Arms Act.
According to the justice ministry’s news release, Governor-General Cindy Kiro appointed Watson to the position.
“Dr Watson will take up the role for a five-year term from 23 September 2026, when FSENZ is formally established, and will work with the establishment team beforehand to ensure the new agency is ready to operate from day one,” McKee explained.
At the Ministry of Justice, Watson has been deputy secretary (corporate services) since October 2023. He has held senior leadership roles at Statistics New Zealand, Capital and Coast District Health Board, New Zealand Post, and the Open Polytechnic.
“Dr Watson has extensive experience leading major operational, workforce and technology change across the public sector,” McKee said in the government’s news release.
Here are some other legal news stories revolving around firearms.
On 22 July 2026, McKee announced the government’s adoption of additional amendments to the Arms Bill, as recommended by the Justice Select Committee, with even more changes proposed through an amendment paper.
Last December, McKee shared that the government had introduced the Arms Bill – which updated more than 60 existing offences and created eight new ones – to Parliament.
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