Firearms owners say gun laws overhaul doesn't go far enough to undo 'damage' Parliament's Justice Committee has been hearing in-person submissions on the country's new gun regulations, put forward in the Arms Bill.

An overview of the Select Committee hearings on the Arms Bill www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Want to tell Parliament to protect and strengthen New Zealand's gun laws? Add your name to our submission www.guncontrol.nz/submission

For those without a subscription, this link to the original story may work. archive.is/OHHEO

Nicole McKee has two people appointed to her Advisory Group without any proper process. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/... Her new Arms Bill would allow her to select the new chief executive of the firearms regulator. Tell Parliament this is not OK: www.guncontrol.nz/submission

Want an easy way to submit on the Arms Bill? Add your name to their summary submission at www.guncontrol.nz/submission and let Parliament know you want stronger gun laws. The website also has resources for writing your own submission.

Our hearts go out today to everyone killed, injured or affected by the Bondi Beach massacre. We started up in response to the terrorist attack against the Muslim community in Christchurch and we are equally heartbroken today by the terrorist attack on the Jewish community in Sydney.

We will launch a campaign in the new year with a short submission that you can sign your name to, and a submission guide for the more enthusiastic. Keep your eyes out for communications in the new year. In the mean time, enjoy your holidays.

Submissions on the Arms Bill close on 16 February 2026. The changes are minor and technical but the gun lobby are encouraging their supporters to ask for the registry to be scrapped and semi-automatic firearms to be reintroduced. bills.parliament.nz/v/6/e30c016e...

The Arms Bill has landed. Still has to go through the first reading and be referred to Select Committee before we know submission timeframes. legislation.govt.nz/bill/governm...

The changes that Minister McKee is proposing to the Arms Act are mostly minor tinkering. We support improving the workability of the legislation and many of the changes seem sensible. We look forward to seeing the details in the draft Bill.”

www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Congratulations to National and NZ First for maintaining the ban on semi-automatic firearms. The ban is a critical tool for preventing mass shootings, according to international evidence. The ban is supported by 70-80% of New Zealanders. This sensible decision will save lives.

'Is the bad man coming back?': Meth-addled man steals $15k firearms collection Of the 12 guns stolen, just one, a Glock pistol, has been recovered by police.

Gun collectors think that their hobby is harmless. But it creates a small amount of risk for everyone. This gun collector did nothing wrong but his nephew had a problem with meth. His pistol collection is now in the hands of criminals.

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/meth-addl...

Firearms incidents cost Aotearoa $322m a year: Strong laws save lives New research shows strong firearm laws save lives, but rising firearm assaults and stark inequities mean Aotearoa must strengthen regulations and prevention efforts to reduce harm.

Aotearoa needs stronger gun controls and targeted prevention to keep suicide rates falling and reverse the rise in firearm assault.

Police recently disrupted a firearms diversion ring, which included a dealer. The arrests were based on pre-registry information. Luckily the registry makes these investigations much easier. The seized weapons include many duplicates: a surefire sign of diversion.
www.police.govt.nz/news/release...

Luckily it looks like she lost the registry fight. There probably also need to be some limits on the number of firearms that can be owned by one person...

Nearly 500 guns seized in Gore in one of NZ's largest firearms busts The weapons stockpile included pistols, potentially prohibited and restricted weapons, significant quantities of ammunition, and parts.

HOLY SMOKE!!500 firearms!!This guy was prepping for WWIII!

This shows why the Firearms Registry is absolutely crucial and ACT's Nicole McKee must not be allowed to undermine it.This cache of lethal weaponry would not have been detected had it not been for the Registry

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Police under pressure to explain why execs didn’t pass on press sec complaint In investigating Michael Forbes for secretly recording sex workers and other women, police seized his work phone. But top brass didn’t tell the Beehive ‒ and neither did Forbes.

If Forbes had a firearms licence, the FSA would have known about this incident and considered whether he was still fit to hold a licence. If firearms owners are subject to continuous scrutiny, security clearance holders should also be. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

We have been using the Tautoko model for our submissions. We use an online form to collect names and emails of those who support our summary submission. Put overall number of submitters in main submission and share names confidentially with the Clerk. The SC staff much prefer this approach!

From Rod Emmerson in The Herald today.

Nicole McKee compared firearms to toasters and ovens in her criticism of the gun registry review. Suggesting that stopping the wrong people from buying toasters could have a similar effect on public safety as preventing criminal access to firearms is ludicrous.

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...

A large and broad-based majority of New Zealanders support a gun registry. 82% of voters believe the firearms registry should be kept. Almost two-thirds of voters believe that a political party supporting the registry has stronger law and order policies.

Nicole McKee set the terms of reference for the independent review of the registry. Given her level of control of the review, it is ridiculous that she is now complaining about the findings. This is just sour grapes because it did not produce the recommendations that she wanted.

A criminal gun diverter, caught on surveillance tape, said he was ‘just waiting for the [2023] election bro’ as he hoped the gun registry would be scrapped. National and NZ First have now dashed his, and many other criminals’, hopes.

More than half of gun owners support the registry. The main groups opposed to it are Nicole McKee’s old lobby group, the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners, and criminals who want to easily buy guns.

Diversion by licensed owners has been a major source of guns found at crime scenes. Gun registries also provide greater safety for police officers, giving them better information about the risks they might face and allowing them to remove all firearms when they cancel licences.

Congrats to National and NZ First party for maintaining the gun registry: a critical crime-fighting tool. Gun registries discourage disreputable firearms owners from selling guns to organised crime groups, as they know the guns can be traced back to them.

“I didn’t think that was fair, especially to the Christchurch Muslim community, ... to have anxiety over thinking that I might [expand access to MSSAs]. If I do end up putting it through ... can I mitigate those risks and alleviate some of the fears from the community? And if I can’t, then I won’t.”

“One person alone cannot dictate for a whole country exactly how something should work, and not take on everybody else’s thoughts, concerns, advice. The moment I do that, I become arrogant. So I don’t want to do that ... It’s not about me. It’s about having good firearms laws for everyone.”

Firearms Minister wants gun registry gone, review says she should keep it Nicole McKee will campaign for her constituents but concedes she may not succeed.

Scoop from @nzherald on the review of the gun registry. The independent review recommends retaining the registry, while McKee campaigned on getting rid of it.
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...

"Police and Justice Ministry officials have raised concerns about the changes, fearing they will have the opposite effect to the minister’s stated intent to improve public safety."