Only 530 semi-automatic guns handed over, police say

Only 530 now illegal semi-automatic guns have been handed in so far. Photo / File

New figures show gun owners are holding back on handing in their firearms, because they're waiting to hear how much the Government will pay for them

Figures released to Newstalk ZB by the New Zealand Police showed that, as of Sunday night, only 530 guns had been handed in since the ban on semi-automatic guns was finalised in early April.

There are around 250,000 licenced firearm holders in New Zealand and it's estimated as many as 300,000 guns could now be illegal.

It comes as gun owners are waiting on any details around compensation for their guns.

Police Minister Stuart Nash said in April that regulations, including a price list, would be considered by Cabinet by the end of May.

Nicole McKee, Secretary of the Council of Licensed Firearm Owners, told Heather du Plessis-Allan that there had not been any communication from Government about prices for the buyback.

"If they are being serious about their considerations and ensuring that there is fair and reasonable compensation, then firearm owners will wait a bit longer to make sure it is just and it is fair when it is received."

She said that people were likely to still be considering if they would claim their firearms as heirlooms or sell them to collectors.

McKee expected most people would comply with the laws, but she said that there was no trust in the system whatsoever among firearms owners, and that people felt blindsided and blamed.

"We are effectively being punished for the acts of a foreign terrorist, and we want to make sure that our personal and private property is adequately compensated when it is confiscated."

The semi-automatic weapon ban was instituted after 51 people were killed in mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch.

Semi-automatic weapons were banned within a week of the attack, with legislation rushed through Parliament and passed within a month. At the time, the Government said they aimed to purchase all firearms back by September 30th, but McKee did not believe that would happen.

"There has to be costing around how they will implement the system as well," she said. Factors such as how they would destroy the firearms also had to be considered.

McKee said firearms owners were looking for compensation for parts as well as the weapons themselves.