Government expects to pass new legislation this parliamentary term
Nicole McKee, associate justice minister, has announced Cabinet’s decision to repeal and replace the Arms Act 1983 with legislation introducing changes affecting the firearms regulator and regulatory system, which the government intends to pass during this parliamentary term.
In a news release from the government, McKee said the new arms legislation, which will use plain English and adopt a logical structure, broadly aims to enhance public safety, lessen regulatory burden, and fill statutory gaps.
McKee added that the new arms law seeks to keep firearms away from criminals by automatically disqualifying gang members from holding firearms licences, raise penalties for more than 60 Arms Act offences, add eight offences, and tackle new and emerging technologies like 3D printing and digital files.
According to McKee, the new arms legislation also aims to help licenced firearm owners (LFOs) use their firearms safely and responsibly and follow the rules more easily.
“The changes will clarify that secure storage can be at any premises approved by the regulator,” McKee said. “This will mean that people in university halls, renters, or those living with someone with a mental health concern can more safely and securely store their firearms at another more suitable location.”
According to a news release from the Ministry of Justice, the upcoming draft bill will include a broad array of changes to New Zealand’s firearms regulatory system and firearms regulator, which is presently the Firearms Safety Authority within the New Zealand Police.
The justice ministry stated that the contemplated changes to the regulatory system will require persons or organisations operating under the system to serve personal, community, and public safety interests.
The justice ministry added that the proposed changes concerning the firearms regulator will:
“A statutory ‘red flag’ system is being established, with clarified information sharing so Police and other agencies can continue to signal to the firearms regulator when they have relevant intel that might trigger a review of whether a LFO remains a fit and proper person,” McKee said in the government’s news release.
McKee noted that police officers can still access critical information like whether somebody holds a firearms licence or whether a specific address stores firearms.
“The changes will also replace the current internal review process with a new Firearms Licencing Review Committee,” McKee said. “This will address perceptions among some members of the community that the current internal review process is not sufficiently independent.”
According to the justice ministry, in a coalition agreement, the National and ACT parties committed to rewriting the Arms Act and passing legislative changes within this parliamentary term.
“The current law has been modified dozens of times since it came into force over 40 years ago with many of those changes being rushed through with little to no scrutiny,” McKee said in the government’s news release.
In its news release, the justice ministry noted that it conducted a public consultation process in January and February, during which it accepted nearly 8,500 submissions with over 700,000 individual submission points.
The government’s news release shared that the draft bill will undergo a six-month select committee process, which will allow all New Zealanders to provide their input.
