New Zealand and Australian Shooters Establish Regional Forum
New Zealand and Australian shooters met in Auckland on Friday to establish the Pacific Shooting Sports Forum in response
to growing threats to shooting sports in the region.
Two dozen representatives of the New Zealand Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (COLFO) and the Sporting Shooters
Association of Australia (SSAA) met to discuss the future of shooting sports, the first time the two groups have held an
Australasian summit.
COLFO and SSAA are the largest sport shooting organisations in their respective countries. Licensed firearms owners
number around 240,000 in New Zealand and 800,000 in Australia.
COLFO Chairman John Howat said that the Trans-Tasman neighbours shared a long history in the shooting sports and have a
proud record at an international level.
“However, the future of the shooting sports is under threat from increasingly restrictive laws, supposedly targeting
criminals, but placing heavier and heavier restrictions on responsible and law-abiding sporting shooters.”
“The Pacific Shooting Sports Forum represents a new level of international cooperation between the two countries’
sporting shooters organisations. Through the Forum we hope to promote shooting sports, responsible firearms use, and a
better understanding of shooting sports in the wider community.”