Firearms of gangs included
WELLINGTON: Gang members are among those targeted in recommendations from an inquiry into illegal firearms in New Zealand.
Parliament’s law and order committee yesterday released a report after hearing 10 months of submissions, with 20 recommendations.
The committee wants the Arms Act changed ‘‘to clearly state that a gang member or prospect must not be considered a fit and proper person to possess firearms and therefore must not hold a firearms licence’’.
Police Minister Paula Bennett expressed support for that move yesterday, as did Police Association president Chris Cahill.
The association is particularly pleased with a recommendation that the permit to procure a firearm be extended to cover the sale and transfer of all firearms.
The aim is to provide details of firearms transactions to Police and build up enough information to create a database of firearms possessed by New Zealanders.
‘‘The committee members have recognised that this permit regime would initially impose an administrative burden on buyers, sellers and the Police, but it is time to focus on the bigger picture,’’ Mr Cahill said.
‘‘New Zealand needs to better monitor private sales of firearms and the majority of the country’s 242,000 licensed owners will agree with that.
‘‘An online process for permits will eventually reduce the costs to all.’’
The committee opted against a recommendation to create a firearms register, instead backing a law change to require police to record serial numbers of firearms when licence holders renew their licences, or have their premises inspected.
It recommended the law be amended so a firearms licence is needed to possess ammunition, unless the person with the ammunition is under the immediate supervision of a firearms licence holder.
Dealers should be made to keep records of ammunition sales, the report recommended.
Firearms prohibition orders should be introduced in New Zealand, the report recommends, and people who lose their firearms licence should be subjected to a standdown period before reapplying.
Mr Cahill said the Police Association was unhappy there was no recommendation to significantly tighten rules and regulations surrounding the importation of ‘‘tens of thousands’’ of firearms each year.
‘‘We have to ask why on earth we need all these firearms, why we need MSSAs [militarystyle semiautomatics] and pistols, and why is it acceptable to not know where many of these weapons end up.’’