Gun laws introduced by former prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s government in the wake of the deadly Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019 are at risk of being unwound, advocacy groups have warned, as New Zealand’s rightwing coalition moves forward with a comprehensive review of the measures spearheaded by a former gun lobbyist.
In June, the coalition government commenced a review of the newly created Firearms Registry and announced it would rewrite the law regulating gun use and ownership, fulfilling a commitment made in the coalition agreement between the centre-right National Party and libertarian ACT Party.
The creation of a firearms registry and a ban on military-style semi-automatic rifles were among the measures introduced by the Ardern government after the Christchurch terror attacks, in which an Australian white supremacist killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two inner-city mosques on 15 March 2019.
Despite receiving strong public support at the time, the changes attracted the ire of some gun owners, who claimed the laws demonised them without improving public safety.
Among the most vocal critics was Nicole McKee, a spokesperson for lobby group the Council of Licensed Firearms Users, whose concern over the issue motivated her to run for parliament in 2020 with the ACT Party. Now a minister in the coalition government, McKee is tasked with overseeing a root and branch rewrite of the country’s gun laws.
Gun control advocates fear this may signal a loosening of firearms controls.
“We’re really concerned this has the potential to undo all the changes that were made after the Christchurch terror attacks,” says Philippa Yasbek, co-founder of Gun Control NZ, an advocacy group founded after the mosque shootings.
“We know that before Nicole McKee was minister she was very keen to get rid of the registry and loosen access to semi automatic firearms.”
In November, shortly after the coalition agreement was reached, ACT leader David Seymour told New Zealand media that those with an approved purpose who have gone through certain checks should be able to access military-style semi-automatic rifles.
However, prime minister Christopher Luxon has said there would be “no new guns added into New Zealand” as a result of the reforms. “We are going to rewrite the Arms Act because it’s an outdated piece of legislation, it’s an old piece of legislation,” Luxon told Radio New Zealand in March.
In response to questions, McKee declined to say whether the new law would be more or less permissive in terms of access to firearms than the current law, or would increase the number of firearms in circulation.
“I am not making any assumptions about the outcomes. I am looking forward to upcoming consultation to hear from the New Zealand public and experts,” McKee said in a written statement to the Guardian.
“Unlike some of the rushed changes made by the Ardern government, where consultation was negligible – in one case amounting to three days – we will be listening to everyone.
“This reform is about providing greater public safety outcomes – through simple and effective regulation. It is about finding the right balance for our country and once again leading the world with enduring legislation.”
Alexander Gillespie, a professor of international law at Waikato University, says New Zealand’s firearms laws before 2019 reflected “poor practice” by international standards and were “part of the reason the atrocity was able to unfold”.
“It was possible to game the system with great ease,” says Gillespie, referring to the “readily available access to semi automatic firearms”, while the lack of a firearms registry put New Zealand out of step with comparable countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom.
After the Ardern-era reforms, New Zealand’s laws are now “pretty close to good practice”, says Gillespie, although it is too soon to know what impact they have had.
“You’re looking at only a five year period. It’s very difficult to show a statistical relationship between what happened with the Ardern government and a reduced case of extremism and violence.”
