Last week, the Police Association refused to publish an article by COLFO which detailed objections to the fees and has since run in the New Zealand Herald. The article cites a January briefing to the Police Minister which warned that the high fees proposed for firearm license holders risks more firearms disappearing into the grey market.

COLFO spokesperson Hugh Devereux-Mack says the Association’s refusal to publish the article is a concerning sign about a mindset within Police to come down hard on firearm owners, whatever the consequences.

“NZPA President Chris Cahill has already made it very clear he supports the highest fees proposed for firearm owners, which constitute an almost 500 percent increase.”

“But what he hasn’t told his members is that a fee increase of that measure could have dangerous consequences for frontline police dealing with organised crime.”

Police said in January briefings to then-Minister of Police Stuart Nash that the significant fees proposed increase the risk that some license holders will forego their license but retain their firearms.

The briefing said around 40 percent of firearm license holders did not renew their licence when the ten-year license was introduced in 1992. Police say an unknown number of these license holders retained firearms.

“The briefing to the Minister warned the same could happen if license fees now rise by a significant amount,” says Devereux-Mack.

“It’s a serious risk because once in the grey market, firearms can more easily make their way into the hands of criminals, where they can be encountered by Police officers.”

COLFO wrote an article about the issue and offered it to the Police Association, so frontline Police officers could learn of the risks that come with the proposed regulations.

However, Police Association President Chris Cahill had already come out in support of the largest fee increase proposed by Police.

The Association refused to publish the article, preventing their members from learning of the potential consequences the fee increases might have on their workplace safety.

“The new Police Minister needs to find out what’s going on in the Police policy team that has led them to treat firearm owners with such disdain, and she needs to sort it out before people get hurt,” says Devereux-Mack.

© Scoop Media