Michael Dowling Chairman [email protected] Council of Licenced Firearms Owners Inc. PO Box 24020, Manners Street, Wellington 6142, New Zealand www.colfo.org.nz SUBMISSION ON ARMS (LICENCE HOLDERS’ APPLICATIONS FOR NEW LICENCES) AMENDMENT BILL 9 November 2022 BACKGROUND The New Zealand Council of Licenced Firearms Owners Incorporated (COLFO) is the overarching organisation for firearms users in New Zealand. It is an association of shooting sports organisations. Many of the estimated 250,000 New Zealanders who have firearms (and the hundreds of thousands more who occasionally use them) do not belong to organisations, but our membership represents the views of those who organise to hunt, target shoot, and collect firearms. We also represent people who work in the industry, including professional guides. From experience, we are confident that we represent the predominant views of firearms owners in this country. Our board includes representatives of 12 national firearms organisations including Pistol NZ, the NZ Deerstalkers Association, the National Rifle Association of NZ, NZ Antique and Historical Arms Association, NZ Service Rifle Association and Sporting Shooters Association NZ. Other members include the International Military Arms Society, Target Shooting New Zealand, New Zealand Shooting Federation, Airsoft New Zealand, New Zealand Clay Target Association and NZ Black Powder Shooters Federation. COLFO has renowned and published authors on the subject of firearms and has ready access to technical experts. We are a UN-accredited organisation and have represented New Zealand internationally at the UN Arms Trade Treaty and the UN Programme of Action. We are a member of the World Forum on Shooting Activities (WFSA). SUBMISSION Support for the Bill COLFO strongly supports this Bill and welcomes this as a permanent change to the Arms Act 1983. We appreciate the Minister’s comments in Parliament that licensed firearm owners have been acting in good faith. We thank Nicole McKee, Simeon Brown and Mark Mitchell for their ongoing advocacy on this issue. We thank Minister Hipkins for putting this bill forward, it has been sorely needed for some time. However, we note that when we asked for changes such as these in 2021, we were told by the previous Minister of Police that these changes were not possible. 1 Michael Dowling Chairman [email protected] Council of Licenced Firearms Owners Inc. PO Box 24020, Manners Street, Wellington 6142, New Zealand www.colfo.org.nz Lessons to be learnt As has been well documented in First Reading speeches, this was not an unexpected issue. The Minister for Police has stated that when Parliament made changes to the Arms Act in 1992 they did not think about the long term consequences. Over the last three years we have seen frequent, rushed and confused changes to the Arms Act and associated regulation and guidelines. This has resulted in fixes being required when consultation has not enabled well thought out legislation and regulation. The majority of the impact of the changes made in the last three years have been on the licensed firearm owners, who have been deemed ‘fit and proper’ by Police. However, as we have seen the changes have not addressed the real risks to public safety by organised crime and gangs. Since 2019, we have seen an increase in illegal firearm use and further targeting, not of criminals but of us who endeavour to abide by the law. Significant changes from those rushed amendments are currently delayed or will be. From 24 June 2022, all shooting clubs and ranges were required to have a certificate of approval to operate. They were given 12 months to apply. However, the regulatory regime necessary for clubs and ranges to apply is not yet in place. Once it is, Police will need significant personnel numbers to process applications and undertake inspections of ranges. Similarly, from 23 June 2023 the firearms registry will be implemented. The regulatory regime necessary for this to occur is also not yet in place and the regulations consulted on will impose almost immediate new obligations on some licensed firearm owners. Based on the Government’s own statements, it is not possible that there will be adequate support or personnel to manage these changes. We urge Parliament to act proactively and delay the commencement of these changes until: a. There is evidence that the proposed changes and regulations will increase public safety; and b. Adequate personnel are in place to support those trying to meet their obligations under the Act and to process applications efficiently. Notes on the Bill We raise no concerns or issues with the drafting of the Bill. However, we seek reassurance that Arms Regulations will be amended to manage the extension of endorsements. When similar temporary accommodations due to Covid were made, endorsements were managed in this way. If endorsements are dealt with in the same manner as the Arms (Extension of Licences and Endorsements) Amendment Regulations 2021, we support this Bill. If it is not, the provision will need to be made in this legislation. The risk is that licenses are extended without the endorsement resulting in endorsement holders not being able to possess their restricted arms items as they are linked to the endorsement, not the base firearm licence. 2 Michael Dowling Chairman [email protected] Council of Licenced Firearms Owners Inc. PO Box 24020, Manners Street, Wellington 6142, New Zealand www.colfo.org.nz We note that given the tight timeframe for submissions on this Bill and the importance of ensuring endorsements are dealt with, it would have been helpful to have draft regulations circulated at the same time. The Bill, nor any commentary on it, does not address how licenced holders who benefit from this extension will be able to demonstrate their licence is still valid. This is particularly important given that a valid licence is needed to purchase ammunition. We suggest this could be dealt with through an automatically generated letter, as is the case for car registration where you can display such a letter while waiting for the car sticker to be sent. Formal guidance will need to be provided to dealers that they may accept this letter along with the ‘expired’ licence as proof of a valid licence. We suggest it would be beneficial to confirm the effect of this bill, to act retrospectively for those that qualify under the criteria, and to give reassurance to firearm owners who have already relocated their arms items, they can now possess them again while the renewal process is completed. We suggest changes should be made to the confirmation system to enable those with extended licenses to buy and sell arms items and have the validity of their license and endorsements confirmed by Police. Sunset clauses We note in First Reading Speeches that several members raised the possibility of a sunset clause. We oppose such a clause. As detailed in Nicole McKee’s first reading speech, this is not an isolated issue. It is likely there will be ongoing peaks of licence renewals in to the future in which it will be necessary to have extension provisions in place. In addition we note that this Bill supports licenced firearm owners, those who have already been deemed fit and proper, to meet their obligations under the law. Resources would be better spent on targeting illegal firearm users. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Unfortunately this Bill alone will not improve the application and renewal process. We welcome additional resources being allocated to processing applications but we urge the following operational changes to be made: a. Return to vetting officers making interviews outside of business hours to increase the availability of officers and applicants; and b. Assignment of processing officers and communication details provided to applicants so any changes can be quickly notified. 3
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