Police Minister Stuart Nash has urged people with illegal firearms to hand them in or risk facing a sentence of up to five years in prison.
The Arms Amendment Bill, which passed its third reading last night - banning military style semi-automatics, magazines and parts that can be used to assemble illegal firearms - was introduced in response to the terrorist attacks in Christchurch that left 50 people dead.
“We have...increased the penalty substantially for firearms charges," Mr Nash said this morning during an appearance on TVNZ1's Breakfast programme, while giving an update on where the legislation now stands. “Get it off the property, get it out of your possession and you won’t have that five years in jail hanging over your head.”
A buyback scheme introduced by the Government means that licensed gun owners can seek compensation if the firearms in their possession were lawfully obtained.
For the time being, Mr Nash said, there will be an amnesty period to turn in the guns - whether they were obtained legally or not.
“If people have an old .22 in the back of the cupboard that they don’t want or it's not legal they can still hand that back, but they won’t get compensated for that,” he explained.
Mr Nash held firm on the estimate that the buyback scheme will cost the Government $100 and $200 million - despite lobbyist groups scoffing at the figure as far too low - but he acknowledged it’s a tricky number to estimate.
“We have no idea how many of these guns are in our communities - it’s part of the problem," he said. "It’s one of the reasons we brought this Bill in.
“It was best guessed by Treasury, but let's see how much it ends up costing in the end.”
He said “hopefully today” the law will be passed.
Gun owners have until September 30 to hand their firearms in, but that date could be extended, the Police Minister said.
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