Internal police emails reveal alarm over bill that reduces oversight of clubs and ranges
Laura Frykberg
December 02, 2024 •05:00am
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fast facts
- Internal police emails reveal “children” have used military-style semi-automatic firearms at gun clubs.
- The emails also discuss a “significant number” of firearms’ owners who left pistol clubs in 2023 while still possessing guns.
- The concerns relate to a new bill that reduces police oversight of gun clubs and ranges.
A tranche of emails released to
Stuff reveal the extent of concern police have with a new bill that reduces oversight of shooting clubs and ranges.
The internal communications, released under the Official Information Act, include descriptions of children using military-style semi-automatic (MSSA) firearms at gun clubs.
The emails from the police regulator, the Firearms Safety Authority, said children used MSSAs at shooting clubs on “three separate occasions,” which was “illegal”.
However, it is unclear whether the incidents took place before or after 2019, when MSSAs were banned following the Christchurch terror attacks.
Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen described the information as alarming for public safety.
“It’s really concerning... that young people are able to use deadly weapons,” Andersen told
Stuff.
Labour police spokesperson, Ginny Andersen, said it was “really concerning” children had used “deadly weapons”.ROBERT KITCHIN / THE POST
‘
Poor reporting and accountability’
The communications also highlight a “significant number” of firearms’ owners who broke the conditions of their license by leaving pistol clubs in 2023 while still possessing guns.
The missing firearms’ owners were endorsed target pistol holders, licensed gun owners able to possess multiple pistols for target shooting, as well other firearms like rifles.
Some also failed to attend pistol clubs 12 times last year, the minimum number of visits needed annually to be eligible for the endorsement.
In one email, the FSA said it highlighted “poor reporting and accountability” at clubs, inspiring little “confidence” they would monitor breaches if they occurred.
Figures from July 2023 to June 2024 show of the 3878 firearms licence holders in New Zealand, 441 did not meet the conditions of their endorsement.
“The failure to meet legal obligations is concerning,” FSA executive director Angela Brazier said.
“The Firearms Safety Authority - Te Tari Pūreke relies on certified pistol clubs to alert it to breaches.”
Associate Justice Minister, Nicole McKee, said there was a robust select committee stage for the Arms (Shooting Clubs, Shooting Ranges, and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, with 600 written submissions received.ROBERT KITCHIN / THE POST
Risking ‘trust and confidence’
Other concerns over the Arms (Shooting Clubs, Shooting Ranges, and Other Matters) Amendment Bill are raised in the emails.
One describes the hurried timeframe for implementing the bill as risking “trust and confidence” in the FSA by the licensed firearms community.
The regulator has been given three months to implement the bill after it passes.
Andersen said the “short period” was designed to “undermine the regulator every step of the way in this process”.
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee, who is behind the bill, would not comment on the internal police correspondence.
However, she said a robust select committee process took place as “promised”.
“More than 600 written submissions were received and are now available online, including one from the NZ Police Association,” she said.
“The Justice Select Committee is working through these submissions, and I welcome their report which is due on 5 February.”
‘Pre-1983 thinking about what is safe’
The bill, which amends the 1983 Arms Act, means pistol clubs and ranges will still come under the oversight of the FSA.
However, non pistol clubs and ranges, where weapons like shotguns are fired, will be monitored by a governing body or parent organisation.
Clubs and ranges argue the administrative burden of coming under FSA oversight is taxing, forcing them in some cases to close.
But the FSA previously said it would mean in most cases it would no longer be able to inspect the ballistic safety of a shooting range with higher powered weapons.
The email exchanges again highlight that risk, with the bill described as “pre-1983 thinking about what’s safe”.
One email said the bill fails to understand “what’s being shot, how it’s being shot and the dynamics of greater calibres.”
“It’s a bit like the Interislander ferry (the regulated) telling the regulator (Maritime / WorkSafe), that they have enough life jackets, they haven’t expired,” the email reads.
“So don’t bother coming to check and by the way you can’t lawfully anyway!”
Police Association president, Chris Cahill, has questioned the need for the bill.ROBERT KITCHIN / ROBERT KITCHIN
Gangs on ranges
During the select committee hearings in November, Police Association president Chris Cahill questioned why the bill was necessary.
“Why are you even debating this legislation when there is nothing that shows it’s required,” he said.
“There is no evidence that I read in any of the documents prepared... that showed there is a problem with these regulations in relation to gun clubs and shooting ranges.”
During the hearings, Cahill also said he was “aware” of patched gang members using gun ranges since the 2019 mosque attacks.
Among the police emails released under the Official Information Act is one that backs up that claim.
“I’ve included images of those gang members shooting. 50 cal in the South Island, one being overseen by a senior NZ pistol shooter,” the email reads.
Andersen said it all built a “picture” that there were some “highly questionable activities on gun ranges”.
“Yet this government has still taken steps to deregulate gun ranges that are not within the interests of New Zealanders, or public safety,” she said.
- Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz