Scoop  Top Scoops

Police have revealed details of how the gun buyback process will work at a public demonstration today.

Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas

New firearms laws are now in effect banning most semi-automatic firearms and some pump action shotguns, and also certain large capacity magazines.

There will be 192 collection events for banned weapons over the next three months, beginning next weekend at Christchurch's Riccarton Racecourse.

Police Minister Stuart Nash said 840 firearms have already been handed in and another 8000 are expected to be surrendered soon.

In addition, more than 1300 unlawful firearms have been seized since March.

Gun owners are being asked to prepare before handing over their firearms, and turn up with bank account details, firearms licence and photo identification.

The firearm should also not be loaded.

The government will pay 95 percent of the base price for weapons in new or near-new condition, 70 percent for those in used condition and 25 percent for those in poor condition.

The guns will be disabled soon after collection and then destroyed by a hydraulic press.

Meanwhile, the National Party is concerned that gun-owners will not get a fair deal in the buy-back and is calling on the government to release the report on which the system is based.

National's police spokesperson Brett Hudson said the government-commissioned KPMG report, which recommends how much gun-owners should receive for handing in their firearms, needs to be made public.

Many gun-owners are not confident that the scheme is fair and fear they will be left out of pocket, he said.

Mr Hudson wants the report released so they can see the expert advice and compare it to what is being rolled out in the buyback.

© Scoop Media

 

Top Scoops Headlines