Shooting clubs and ranges have been offered a lifeline as the Arms Amendment Bill, introduced to Parliament last week, aims to introduce workable compliance standards and amend police powers.
The Act party coalition agreement required a second look be taken at the "rushed" Arms Act introduced by the former Labour government after the Christchurch mosque massacre.
In a statement, Council of Licensed Firearm owners (COLFO) spokesman Hugh Devereux-Mack said the group welcomed the changes to the rules and was glad the government had promptly responded to concerning privacy issues.
The regulations implemented under the Labour-led government, allowed the commissioner of police to use information supplied by members of firearms clubs to sign them up to the firearms registry without their consent, he said.
In a speech to Parliament last week, Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee said clubs and ranges played an important public safety role in communities and a place for people to learn how to safely operate firearms.
"The changes introduced in 2020 went beyond what was necessary to ensure public safety.
"They jeopardised the ability for clubs and ranges to provide a safe environment for New Zealanders to learn, practise and compete, and placed some ranges at risk of closing."
Amendments included simplifying regulatory requirements, streamlining annual reporting and only required non-pistol clubs to be incorporated if they sold ammunition not to be used on the range the same day.
During Mrs McKee’s address, she said it was important firearms laws were practical, made compliance straightforward and improved public safety.
"These laws should also support clubs and ranges to continue to operate safe and controlled environments where people can learn about firearms, practise firearms safely, and compete."
The 2023 Select Committee found the Arms Act regulations had given police unexpected powers, but it deferred any final decision to the new 2024 committee.
One regulation required new firearm ranges to have consent from neighbouring landowners before being allowed to establish a range.
COLFO’s submission argued the vague wording meant neighbours could object on all matter of grounds, such as noise complaints, or insufficient street parking, which had no impact on the ballistic safety of a range, which meant it fell outside the Arms Act, Mr Devereux-Mack said.
The committee agreed the language was too vague, lacked specificity and did not clearly align with the supporting police documentation.
Labour List MP Ginny Andersen responded to Ms McKee’s parliamentary address, saying 91% of the submission to the select committee had come from the firearms community who were writing their own rules and regulations.
Ms McKee said she looked forward to hearing from people across the country through the select committee process.
The select committee will report back to parliament early in 2025.
