COLFO responds to evidence at the Coronial Inquiry today, saying;

• Unnecessary firearm law changes after the Christchurch attack occurred because Police withheld news that it had incorrectly licensed Tarrant.
• Police made the mistake not because the firearm licencing system was flawed, but because of poor judgement, oversight, and an under-resourced vetting system.
• This was made possible by a lack of knowledge about firearm licensing at senior Police levels – the same levels that were advising the Government on policy changes.

The admission by Firearms Safety Authority Director Mike McIlraith in the Christchurch Masjidain Attack Coronial Inquiry that Police incorrectly gave Tarrant a firearm licence, contradicts an uncorrected Police claim in March 2019 that ushered in new licensing penalties and firearm rules.

Police announced on 22 March 2019 that the licensing of Tarrant was proper. The Council of Licenced Firearms Owners says this false claim in March 2019 led the public and politicians to believe that licensing and firearm law was inadequate, when the real problem was that Police had not applied the rules correctly on the one person they absolutely needed to get it right.

McIlraith’s evidence is that material Police provided in mid-March 2019 for his assessment of Tarrant’s licensing led him to conclude that the license was valid. He admits to drawing the conclusion without knowing who Tarrant’s referees were, and their lack of contact. When this information was revealed to him two months later, he changed his mind. Despite it then becoming common knowledge within Police that Tarrant’s license was improperly given, the public announcement denying Police culpability was never withdrawn.

COLFO spokesperson Hugh Devereux-Mack says the Police decision to stick to a conclusion it knew was not true, meant its proposed licensing and firearms rules could be continued by the Government even though they did not address the main failing.

“Today’s evidence showed the Police knew they had licensed Tarrant incorrectly but decided not to say so, which helped pass unnecessary firearm legislation.

“The Government’s firearm law changes were made without knowledge of the real flaw in the system, and advised by senior Police officers who were not familiar with firearm licensing.

“It is important that when mistakes of this magnitude are made by Government, the apology and correction must be louder than the initial incorrect statements. The truth was not uncovered until the Royal Inquiry 18 months later. By that time the law changes were in place and the misguided firearm buyback was over.

“The Police misled the nation into wasting time, money, and emotions on the wrong law changes.”

McIlraith’s evidence to the Inquiry, based on over 30 years with Police, includes a comprehensive history of piecemeal modification of the licensing system, and examples of erratic regional application of licensing rules, low levels of training, guidance, and moderation, and resourcing issues.

McIlraith also told the inquiry that senior levels at Police did not appreciate how the system worked, which made it easier to withhold resources.

Devereux-Mack says McIlraith’s testimony underscores the need to rewrite the Arms Act to raise the primacy of the firearm licensing system and knit together many years of ad-hoc amendments and modifications.

“Many changes to the Arms Act, including those responding to the Christchurch Mosque attack, were kneejerk, political, and piecemeal. It’s time to rebuild it,” he says.

McIlraith’s testimony suggests the firearms community vigorously resisted Police attempts to close loopholes in the law. Devereux-Mack says COLFO raised the loopholes themselves, and never opposed closing them.

“It’s ridiculous to suggest that the combined will of the Police and Government was stopped by a small group of firearm owners volunteering their spare time.”

Devereux-Mack notes that no one was punished for the licensing error or for hiding it. Instead, the Police Commissioner Mike Bush was awarded Companion of The New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in June 2020, when he most likely knew about the error but had been promoting the law changes.

Note:

In 2019, David Seymour said he was ‘mournfully proud’ to have been proved right over the failure of the Labour Government’s gun buyback scheme. At the time, COLFO estimated that roughly two thirds, around 100,000, banned firearms remained in circulation.

Mark Mitchell, then National's justice spokesman, also branded the buy-back a failure, saying; "as of today, Police estimate they have received over 50,000 firearms, but this is less than a third of what Police advised could be out there.”

"The result is a lot of confusion and lack of engagement. The buy-back has arguably been one of the Government's most important policies. This is yet another failure to deliver."

A survey of COLFO members after the buyback showed the ban had led to a sharp decline in firearm owner’s trust in the Police.

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