NZ firearm laws
This is an updating blog on the firarms regime in NZ
For fair legal advice regarding firearm issues you are best to seek advice from lawyers. Contact COLFO lawyers Franks Ogilvie
As far as fireams are concerned they are a law unto themselves so get advice early...read on.
An Act party Survey of licensed firearm owners (LFO's) collected from the ACT party Fair Firearms Law questionnaire reported a dismal score for NZ police handling of LFO's at 1.5 / 10 reflecting the deep set of police created systemic failures summarized here.
In court, Colfo's lawyer Jack Hodder Kings Council said gun and ammunition owners' property rights had been "extinguished".
"All the property rights of value are gone."
"Law experts and gun owners are genuinely concerned over police use of warrant less search powers.
On New Year's Eve, police used the Search and Surveillance
Act to conduct a warrant-less search of the Christchurch home of an
anti-government, pro-gun pastor Carl Bromley to seize his gun and ammunition.
Police said they had received concerns about a person’s well being.
With no warrant required by using section 18 of the act,
officers “ransacked” his home and took his rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition and
firearms parts. Bromley has not yet received his gun back from police.
Bromley said he had made no threat with his firearms, felt
police violated his privacy and were overly forceful. He questioned whether the
search was lawful.
In September, 81-year-old antique gun collector Robert
Keenan had 110 guns confiscated along with his licence after police suspected
he was supplying guns to gang members.
Before Christmas police wrote to Keenan's lawyer confirming
he was not a threat and that he could have his guns back, but said they were
concerned his home could be targeted by organised criminal gangs.
But Keenan had died, never knowing his license was being
returned.
Keenan’s lawyer, firearms specialist Nicholas Taylor, said
he had submitted legal letters for at least 12 firearms license owners after
similar raids over the last year, winning the return of weapons for each
because there were no legal grounds to remove them.
Taylor said many of the police searches were of elderly men,
who lived alone, and he believed it was a trend.
A police spokesperson said: “I can tell you definitively
that police do not have a policy targeting older gun owners.”
Taylor said he wanted an independent authority to
investigate which gun owners warranted home searches by police, as such raids
could amount to a breach of privacy and the Bill of Rights.
“Police are not particularly great administrators, and why
should they be. We need an independent authority overlooking these.”
The Search and Surveillance Act 2012 allows police to
conduct warrant-less searches if they suspect a gun license owner is of danger to
themselves or the community.
A police officer in charge of a search can seek permission
from an issuing officer either in person, over the phone, or by email.
An issuing officer is authorized by the attorney-general,
who can approve any Justice of the Peace, community magistrate, registrar,
deputy registrar or other person to act as an issuing officer.
The law allows police to move quickly and initiate and conduct
such searches without the oversight of the court.
Christchurch criminal lawyer Anselm Williams said firearms
law changes had not made it easier for police to conduct warrant-less searches,
but police were taking more interest in gun owners since the 2019 terror
attack.
“There is no requirement that the court even know that a
search is going to be conducted or has been conducted.”
These powers mean there was risk of putting fit gun owners
through unlawful property searches or firearms confiscations, he said.
While police needed to be allowed to do their job, the
public also needed to be satisfied they were doing it properly and within the
law, he said.
“In cases where a search has been conducted unlawfully,
those involved should be held to account.”
There are about 250,000 firearms licensed gun owners in New
Zealand. To get a license, Kiwis need to go through police interviewing, gain
references and be determined as fit to possess firearms.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch mosque
attacks found police had not conducted these in full on the terrorist who
killed 51 people.
Superintendent John Price says since the 2019 terror
attacks, police have conducted more home searches for prohibited guns.
Canterbury district Superintendent John Price agreed firearms
searches had increased.
“The environment that we operate in since March 15 has been
heightened. It has changed drastically.
“What we know is if someone had an ideology or a view or
opinion on something like March 15, it just escalates – it is like cream rising
to the top.”
ACT Party justice spokeswoman Nicole McKee said all gun
owners were being treated like “violent gang thugs or ... potential terrorists”.
McKee said cases like Keenan’s were not uncommon and police
needed to be careful not to overstep their jurisdiction.
“Yes, we need to make sure firearms are in the hands of fit
and proper people, but we need to make sure that power is not being abused.”
Well before the mosque attack, the home of journalist and
author of Dirty Politics Nicky Hager was raided by police as part of an
investigation into his sources. In 2018, police apologized and acknowledged
they breached his rights.
Hager, who is not a gun owner, believed police were out of
their depth and the search was a waste of time.
“They took it on like they were investigating a P
(methamphetamine) raid, someone selling P.”
Police admitted they inappropriately obtained Hager’s
banking information, and that they obtained a search warrant despite him not
being “a suspect of any offending”.
Hager said the house search was unpleasant for him and his
family, with his daughter having to be accompanied by a female officer to get
changed in her bedroom.
“They were doing a drug raid, on territory to do with
democracy and rights, that they just weren’t equipped for. It was over the
top.”
Former New Zealand Herald and Stuff columnist Rachel Stewart
found herself on the wrong side of the new gun laws when in June her .22 rifle
was confiscated following a Tweet she made.
Police went to her home without a warrant and handed her
documentation telling her she was unfit to hold a license, confiscating her gun
and ammunition.
Police cited a specific tweet, as well as “consistent
Twitter posts in which you demonstrate a tendency to exhibit hatred towards the
transgender community”.
Stewart said the confiscation came six weeks after the Tweet
and showed no urgency.
“How much of a threat was I if they waited that long to
confiscate my firearms?”
After making a legal submission her firearms license was
posted back a few weeks later."
The following is an email from ACT regardinganother weird action by police
"Here's an absolute doozy from the Firearms
Safety Authority. They've asked an Afghanistan veteran to get a police
check... from the Taliban!
I've been shown emails between the Firearms
Safety Authority and an Officer of the New Zealand Army applying for a
renewal of his firearms licence.
The applicant was told that,
because he has spent more than six months in Afghanistan in the last
ten years, he needs a criminal record check from the local Afghan
authorities.
The incredulous applicant had to explain to the
FSA that he was in Afghanistan serving Her Majesty in hostilities
between New Zealand’s armed forces and the Taliban.
The Taliban, being the current authority in
Afghanistan, would be the same group from whom he would now have to
request a positive reference.
Experiences like this are exactly why licenced
firearms owners have become fed up with the way Police exercise their
powers through the FSA.
Veterans often want to maintain their interest in
and skills with firearms after leaving the armed forces. But they’ve
told me they are often treated with suspicion by the Police, as if they
are all unstable and PTSD-addled. This is an utterly disrespectful way
to treat those who fought for peace overseas.
ACT’s coalition commitment secured a transfer of
responsibility for the FSA from Police to another department – work that
Firearms Minister Nicole McKee is now progressing."
Another doozy;
Following quote is an excerpt from a police
statement that was
used as the sole basis for suspension of a licensed firearm owner's
license, a law abiding citizen holding a pilot's license. The
ammunition, parts and firearms were
properly stored as prescribed within the storage and transportation of firearms and ammunition guide and approved by previous police vetting and according to three witnesses was locked.
Police
adamantly ignored facts and claimed they relied on the following
policeman's statement as expertise; “I am not familiar with the
requirements around storage of firearms however this did not appear to
be adequate.”
An image the untrained
policeman recorded of the locked firearms storage on his mobile phone
disappeared from the police record. A cupboard for ammunition the
untrained policeman alleged had no lock was properly locked according to
the three witnesses, including images supplied as further evidence of
the locked cabinet without external screw heads according to
requirements.
The
evidence was supplied to police firearm resolution whom ignored and
then failed to define any exact fault, despite requests what was wrong.
NZ police responded vaguely and continuously claiming that storage was
not up to date or the ammunition or firearms were unsecured.
Consequently the LFO, witnesses and the public remain uninformed on how
to improve firearm and ammunition storage as police provided no evidence
of the alleged fault.
The only relief within the present system via district court. A further
addition for taxpayer and LFO costs. A lawyer was employed and the
license was returned.
When the LFO went to local station recover the license from the arms officer the LFO stated he had done nothing wrong. The arms officer pathetic response " was lucky to get it back" and defensively "it was his word against the police" and refered specifically to the policman whom had admitted in writing he was untrained and not familiar with the firearms act regulations and lied. No explanation of any fault was offered for the LFO to improve storage of the firearms. The same arms officer had held the same position for several years indicating that police are dissinterested in following law and are actively treating firearms property and the law as a recreational police domain.
ACT's Nicole McKee reviewed the police conduct; "Police are making criminals of firearm owners. I would hope that a regime we implement will make things better, but I
fully expect that there will teething problems in any new regime, its
how we deal with it that matters. First and foremost it means taking
LFOs on the same journey as
us, not excluding them and treating them like gang members".
Recently
a police prosecutor was fined $20000 after proven in court he withheld
defense evidence. This is an overdue first and needed accountability for
a fair
system where police are held personally responsible like everyone else in NZ however it illustrates police are not capable in the role as ad
hoc arbitrator
for firearms resolution. Their job and function is biased toward
prosecution. The not so bright political parties that envisioned and
wrote the present and clearly unbalanced system into law applying
police as the arbitrator; NZ
First, Labour, Greens , National.
A district firearm officer ordered registered firearms belonging to one LFO must also be registered by another LFO whom was storing the firearms, a double registration. There is no requirement in the
firearms act or any provision within the police firearm register. Gun City commented that local firearm officer interpretations of the act will vary from town to town.
NZ police
information security audit scored low reflecting the publicly known events of unsecured storage of firearm owners identities
lost or stolen and discovered in criminals possession also
emailed to wrong recipients. Resulting in theft of firearms and personal I.D. theft has reinforced LFO's registration concerns that police are unable to repair security breach failures.
In December 2002,
reported that the Canada registration project was running vastly above initial cost
estimates. The report showed that the implementation of the firearms
registry program has had significant strategic and management problems throughout.
Taxpayers were originally expected to pay only $2 million of the budget
while registration fees would cover the rest. In 1995, the Department of
Justice reported to Parliament that the system would cost $119 million
to implement, and that the income generated from
fees would be $117 million. This gives a net cost of $2 million. At the
time of the 2002 audit, however, the revised estimates from the
Department of Justice were that the cost of the whole gun control
program would be more than $1 billion by 2004-05 and that the income
from license fees in the same period would be $140 million.
At the same time according to Pharmac, the NZ health system cannot afford 280 million for special treatment drugs to save and prolong lives.
ACT Party policy election claims;
ACT has always stood up for LFOs and always promised
that any policy would include thorough consultation with the LFO
community. You can make your voice heard and provide feedback by
emailing firearmspolicy@act.org.nz.
Some highlights of ACT’s policy include:
• Creating a separate, truly independent Firearms Safety Authority
for licensing administration
• Scrapping the firearms
registry
• Introducing a three-tier licensing system which recognizes that all firearms pose a threat in the wrong hands, and
that licensing the individual is the key to preventing misuse. This
system will adopt a risk mitigation approach without outright banning
possession of semi-automatics.
• Instant license disqualification
for gang membership
• Recognizing overseas offenses in the vetting
process.
As per the abuse examples described NZ police tend to extend restrictions toward abiding LFO's where police patently lack requisite training and are keen to exert their fertile imaginations, abundant time, tax funded resources available and no care, all while avoiding confrontations with Gang patches as per police representive Chris Cahill's statement; “outside of Auckland, Wellington
and Christchurch, there’d be very few police districts that would have
enough staff to enforce the new rules on a group of gang members in
patches.”
Take the law abiding guns and thow them into the crushers and avoid the gang patches is the police rep's fervent message.
Police use the new ad hoc gang assembly laws for lawfare which is actually illegal according to the present bill of rights against groups of more than five, shooting clubs and to shut down freedom of speech such as Destiny Church on a bike ride to telegraph Brian Tamaki's opinions that don't mesh with a police version resulting in ad hoc raids by cops whom have no memory regarding actual law as per the iterated examples and the prosecutions of award winning journalists whom are simply publishing established facts police don't like.
“The act also allows for a subtle but important broadening of the scope
of gangs to be included in schedule 3 compared to the NGL. Police’s Gang
Harm Insights Centre has and continues to assess gangs that may meet
the new criteria.”
The vague may meet new criteria will be applied to any group they don't like.
Luxon commented in the news on March the 15 "NZ should be more inclusive". A reversal of him creating laws for control of vaguely designated groups within society.
So the following survey is from Berkley USA. A haven for all things left:
"Globally, New Zealand and Sweden swapped places from last year to
take the first and second spots on the list of most inclusive countries,
respectively, with Norway holding on to third place for the second
straight year.
This was the first year New Zealand came in first place, although it
regularly scores very high along with Northern European countries known
for their strong social safety net programs."
Polititians with selective memories whom are all in favor of banning firearms in law abiding homes ingnore the fact Tarrant the mosque lone shooter was a foreigner.
As a front man for Air NZ Luxon could brush up on that positivity that he promised he would bring to the job. Perhaps state facts in his speech as they are, NZ was the leader in the world for inclusivity and the crime was perpetrated by a foreigner that the police firstly failed by wrongly granting the perpetrator a firearms license and now in a state of over compensating created the negative 1.5/10 survey score.
Cahill from the police union has been complaining about ACT's McKee recently as she attends to correcting the arms act problems. Cahill is living within the same police bubble that creates the score of 1.5 out ot 10.
Deerstalkers(DS) and others are supplying submissions to rewrite shooting clubs regulations that thay have discovered through trying to implement them are difficult to work with. Under an official information request to police DS are seeking proof that there is a safety issue on DS ranges that have historically been safe with only 2 out of some 14 incidences that have been notified on shooting ranges the other 12 were reported form police cerified pistol ranges and it is easy to conclude that the police regualted ranges are worse for safety than DS ranges. So they are simply requesting the police to proved what basis they have to support their regulations to be reviewd by ACT's McKee's panel and then base mitigating regulations on the reported risk.
ACT and Mckee are preparing to remove fireams resolution from police so thay can get on with actual work instead of imagined risks.
From our experience we had 2 concrete saws and tools stolen valued over $5000 that is a man's livelihood and no police turned up. A neighbour had a camera and police were advised and they failed to contact the neighbour. A child with clear mental issues was running around the neighbourhood with no clothes and throwing "their" own faeces and stones at property and no police turned up despite numerous locals warning Taupo police. After a prolonged period of months the behavior only stopped when the mother was evicted and the problems moved to another place. No risk assessment for the future or care about property performed.
NZ Herald reports;
"A man who tried to invade the home of a 74 year old Hamilton woman also tried to get into another address on the same street after police were a no-show at the elderly woman’s incident.
Toria Newman told the Herald
last week when she heard knocking on her door at 3am on October 28, she
opened it thinking it was the friend who’d left a few minutes before.
However, it was a man, who increasingly aggressively asked to use the
phone.
The 74-year-old has cerebral palsey and couldn’t defend herself but was able to loudly tell the man to leave.
Newman
rang the police to report the incident – but police told her they were
too busy to come straight away. The dispatcher told her to log a report
online."
Now, another Hamilton East resident says the same man tried to get into her home three hours later on the same morning.
Meth in various Waikato towns has doubled in use.
