Sporting Shooters are angry that the first known instance of license holder data being leaked was the result of an entirely preventable error on the part of Authority staff.

SSANZ believes that this will validate licensed firearms owner’s concerns around the data security of the Firearms Licensing Authority and the obvious security risks posed by a firearms registry.

Yesterday news media articles circulated the first publicly known instance of sensitive information being leaked from the Firearms Licensing Authority.

Despite the countless assurances that the information security of the Firearms Licensing Authority was first class, every licensed firearmsowner’s fear is now realized. The entirely preventable carelessness shown by the Authority has not only undermined the security of 147 license holders affected but also those that share their homes and the safety of the wider community.

The Sporting Shooters Association will be protesting to Police Minister Ginny Andersen as well as the Authority asking them why the remaining 232,000 licensed firearms owners should voluntarily supply the Authority with their sensitive information?

We will also want to know what assurances have been given to the 147 shooters whose privacy and security they compromised.

Licensed firearms owners are sick and tired of the 'I told you so' moments with Police/Authority conduct which we seem to have regularly.

If the Authority wants licensed firearms owners to stop lawfully avoiding activating circumstances for the registry( out of protest and well-founded concerns about data security), a step in achieving this is to have basic data handling protocols to prevent simple preventable mistakes like this from happening again.

An administrative blunder by the Authority is an unacceptable undermining of privacy and security for license holders.

If the Authority is not held to account for this level of incompetence, then expect shooters to lose what little confidence they have in them to keep New Zealand safe.

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