Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee's Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill announcement in Wellington.
Video / Mark Mitchell
The Act Party and its MP Nicole McKee campaigned in 2023 on axing the registry and, under strict conditions, widening access to military-style automatic firearms.
A review of the firearms registry was completed months ago but has not been released, though the Herald understands it recommends keeping it.
McKee, now Associate Justice Minister, says she will continue to campaign for her constituency, but ‘that doesn’t necessarily mean we will get what we want’.
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee appears to have an uphill battle ahead if she wants to scrap or overhaul the gun registry, after a review is understood to recommend keeping it.
The official findings of the review are yet to be released,even though it was completed months ago, as discussions with coalition partners continue over what happens next.
But the Herald has been told by multiple sources that the review’s recommendations favour not only retaining the registry, but also for all firearms to be registered.
McKee has questioned whether the benefits are worth the costs – annual operating costs are estimated at $8.5 million – and remains concerned about the public safety impact of data breaches. These have happened previously and, in the wrong hands, could tell criminals where they can find certain guns.
She campaigned on axing the registry and has also talked about a return to the previous system where only certain firearms needed to be registered.
In an interview with the Herald, she wouldn’t confirm or deny the findings of the review, saying it still had to go through a Cabinet process. Asked if the review said something she didn’t like, she smiled, then laughed before adding: “It’s an interesting report.”
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee. Photo / Mark Mitchell
She said she would continue to push for what she campaigned on, which also includes widening access for military-style semi-automatic firearms (MSSAs) under strict conditions.
But as Opposition parties are against these changes, they require the support of both coalition parties to proceed, which McKee conceded may not happen.
The wider goal was to rewrite the Arms Act in a way that endured for decades, taking account of everyone’s views.
“One person alone cannot dictate for a whole country exactly how something should work, and not take on everybody else’s thoughts, concerns, advice,“ McKee said.
“The moment I do that, I become arrogant. So I don’t want to do that ... It’s not about me. It’s about having good firearms laws for everyone.”
Wider access to MSSAs: ‘If I can’t, then I won’t’
The current ban on MSSAs means only about 300 commercial pest controllers can legally fire them.
McKee has supported widening their use, including for some recreational pest control, and for about 400 competitive shooters.
“It’s a very small number ... And when you look at the previous regime of having to have yearly checks, higher security – which means thicker safes – alarm systems to stop burglaries, it was quite intense.
“And they were all good people and they did well.”
She currently lacks the numbers in Parliament to make this change after National, which previously supported access for shooting competitions, changed its stance.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has not ruled out widening access to MSSAs since taking office, though this did not make it into the National-Act coalition agreement. Instead, a rewrite of the Arms Act was included. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“They’ve made that quite clear. That’s fine,” McKee said.
“I want to see what the feedback is, which I haven’t received just yet [from consultation over the Arms Act].”
He has refused to answer that question since taking office and agreeing (in the National-Act coalition agreement) to rewrite the Arms Act, which, among other things, will consider MSSAs.
The powerful firearms provoke strong reactions because of their association with mass shootings, including in Christchurch in 2019 and Aramoana in 1990.
Opponents of wider access argue the risk is too great: more of them in circulation means a greater chance of one falling into the wrong hands.
“These high-velocity firearms are capable of destroying humans with the most horrendous injuries. Fired at the right place, a head will disintegrate,” said Tim Ashton, a retired police officer who was on the front line during the Aramoana response.
Those events continue to haunt him, he told the Herald, and “it haunts me that 51 people died [in Christchurch] because successive governments did nothing”.
“And if we allow greater access to MSSAs, it will happen again.”
For many years retired police officer Tim Ashton has been lobbying the Government – from local MPs to party leaders and other lawmakers – to change New Zealand's gun laws. Photo / Alan Gibson
Ashton said he didn’t consider competitive shooting with MSSAs a sport.
“I consider it a minor inconvenience to not being able to get an assault rifle and go around and shoot some paper targets. If one life is lost, it’s one life too many.”
McKee believed the risks of wider access can be mitigated, though she conceded this was a hard sell from a public safety point of view.
“I’m not going to let my constituents down by not campaigning on their behalf ... That doesn’t necessarily mean we will get what we want.”
She said she remained open-minded and didn’t want to be “put in a corner” because of her previous advocacy.
“I didn’t think that was fair, especially to the Christchurch Muslim community, for them to have anxiety over thinking that I might do this.
“If I do end up putting it through, I have to think about – can I mitigate those risks and alleviate some of the fears from the community? And if I can’t, then I won’t.”
Under the current law, firearms owners have until August 2028 to register all their firearms unless there is an "activating circumstance" such as buying or selling a gun. Photo / 123RF
Last year McKee argued in favour of what existed before the Christchurch terror attack, meaning all pistols and restricted weapons had to be registered.
But this didn’t exist in a form similar to the current registry, where the information can be searched and shared with frontline police officers in real-time. Nor did it have the same impact on gun owners selling firearms to the unlicensed, which criminals say the registry helps prevent.
McKee conceded the registry has advantages.
“The challenge we face is, is it worth the money? Well, not only is it worth the money, but how do we get compliance? Because people are so worried about their information being accessed.”
“If the registry is going to stay in its format, then a lot of work needs to be done by Government to create trust and confidence in that regime,” McKee said.
The gun registry was implemented after the terror attack in Christchurch in 2019. Currently, firearms licence holders have until August 2028 to register their firearms. Photo / Mark Mitchell
According to FSA annual survey results, trust and confidence have significantly improved between 2022 and 2024:
On the FSA’s approach to managing the licensing scheme, trust and confidence jumped from 42.7% to 68%.
On whether the authority is “effective in controlling the safe use and possession of licensed firearms”, it jumped from 45.2% to 65%.
On effectiveness in controlling the use and possession of unlicensed firearms, it rose from 30.4% to 46.9%.
McKee said this was good progress, adding: “At the moment, the digital registry we have complies with government security assurances. We need to get that out there a bit more.”
Colfo’s annual survey about trust and confidence in police also showed improvements, though scores remain very low.
Last year respondents scored police 1.9 out of 10 for administering the Arms Act without bias, and 1.3 out of 10 for keeping firearms registry data secure.
She plans to push this through even if it costs hundreds of millions of dollars; a new IT system might be needed to maintain real-time information-sharing between the FSA and police.
Might there be more urgent matters the Government would rather spend money on?
“I am committed to doing it. It’s in the coalition agreement. It’s something that needs to be done," McKee said.
A police haul after shutting down an Auckland syndicate attempting to illegally manufacture 3D printed firearms. Photo / NZ Police
Enabling some 3D printing
The rewritten Arms Act will also have new provisions about technology that didn’t exist when the current law was written, in 1983.
Police want a new offence for possessing blueprints for 3D-printed firearms and firearms parts; since 2018, police have seized 58 3D-printed guns and between 200 to 300 3D-printed firearms parts.
McKee noted the risks of 3D printing, but also saw opportunities for economic growth.
“I’ve just visited some commercial businesses who are making quite outstanding innovative stuff that no one else is doing in the world – very lightweight 3D-printed stocks ... that are on average half the weight of a normal stock.”
That could have huge benefits for the Defence Force or hunters, she said.
“We’ve got to stop criminals being able to access the plans ... but I reckon there will be a way of enabling it legally.”
She said public safety remained paramount and penalties needed to be sufficiently hefty to deter misuse of 3D printing.
“But I can’t just go banning everything because it potentially could be a public safety issue. At the end of the day, a car will have a public safety issue with it as well.
“It’s about finding that balance.”
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Derek Cheng is a senior journalist who started at the Herald in 2004. He has worked several stints in the press gallery team and is a former deputy political editor.
