25 September 2019

The Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for submissions on the Arms Legislation Bill.

The bill aims to improve public safety by introducing tighter controls on the use and possession of arms and ammunition. It follows on from the Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act, which became law on 11 April 2019.

This bill would re-state the purpose of the Arms Act to make it clear that owning a firearm is a privilege, and that people with that privilege have a responsibility to act in the interests of personal and public safety.

Some changes proposed in the bill include:

• Creating a firearms registry. This would store information about firearms and link them to licence holders so that every firearm legally held in New Zealand can be monitored.
• Strengthening and expanding the licensing regime, extending it to cover parts, magazines, and ammunition, and creating a licensing regime for shooting clubs and ranges.
• Strengthening the oversight of arms imports and sales.
• Giving the Police more tools to vet people and enforce the regime.
• Enabling health practitioners to notify the Police if they have concerns about a licenced firearm owner’s mental health or wellbeing.

Tell the Finance and Expenditure Committee what you think
Make a submission on this bill through the online submission tool on Parliament’s website. Submissions close midnight 23 October 2019.

Making a submission

Submissions are publicly released and published to the Parliament website. Only your name or organisation’s name is required on a submission. Please keep your contact details separate from your submission – if they are included in the body of your submission, they will become publicly available when the submission is released.

All online submissions must be made through the online submission tool on the Parliament website. The committee will not accept email submissions. Further guidance on making a submission can be found at the link below:
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/how-to-make-a-submission/
The postal address for hard copy submissions is:

Committee Secretariat
Finance and Expenditure Committee
Parliament Buildings
Wellington 6160
For more details about the bill:
• Read the full content of the bill
• Get more details about the bill
• What’s been said in Parliament about the bill?
• Follow the committee’s Facebook page for updates

ENDS

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