Committee gives gun law plan the bullet

23.02.2001

Government attempts to reform the arms laws have been shot down by a
select committee which has rejected the idea of gun registration.
Instead, the Government has been urged to establish a working group to
consider gun control strategies. A report from law and order select
committee chairwoman Janet Mackey, tabled in Parliament yesterday, said
the committee was unanimous on most of the issues raised during its
consideration of the Arms Amendment Bill.
Universal registration of firearms was unlikely to promote responsible
attitudes, stop unlicensed people gaining access to guns, increase the
reporting of firearms thefts or significantly encourage compliance with
security requirements, it said.

“We consider that the bill does not adequately address issues of illegal
ownership of firearms or the sufficiency of current penalties. “We
consider that firearms control strategies should do more to target
those who are not currently complying with the law, rather than those
who are complying with the law.” But despite that, the committee could
not agree on what should happen to the bill. “The opposition members
believe the bill should be discarded and that the advice in the report
should be picked up by the Government,” the report said. “The
Government members believe that … the current bill, while deficient,
could be used as an adequate vehicle for implementing measures to bring
about better firearms control laws for New Zealand.”

The committee recommended that the Government set up a working group to
look at the issues raised by the bill before implementing any further
firearms control strategies. The bill, introduced by National in
response to retired High Court judge Sir Thomas Thorp’s 1997 firearms
review, attracted about 6500 submissions, most opposing firearms
registration. “Opposition is based on three main themes – that
registration is unnecessary, that it will be counterproductive and
ineffective, and that it is a precursor to confiscation of certain
firearms,” the committee said in its report. National withdrew its
support for the bill last year. But Police Minister George Hawkins
wants all guns to be registered by 2010 as part of the firearms policy
he announced last October.

National MP Brian Neeson said the select committee report was a “slap in
the face” for Mr Hawkins. “The Government should follow the committee’s
advice and consult widely to produce a well-thought out proposition for
firearms control that will actually work and deliver better safety
controls,” he said. “National is concerned about safety, security and
fairness in our firearms laws and we remain committed to working
constructively with groups to develop legislation that will achieve
this.” – NZPA >>>
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