Hon Minister Nicole McKee
Associate Minister of Justice

Improving the way shooting clubs and ranges are regulated will be the outcome of a Bill introduced today Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee says.

“Cabinet has agreed to a package of reforms to amend Part 6 of the Arms Act 1983 which will enable simple and effective regulation of pistol and non-pistol shooting clubs and ranges.

“As I have stated repeatedly clubs and ranges play an important public safety role in our communities. As well as providing places for people to learn how to safely operate firearms they also act as the eyes and ears of the firearms community.”

“The changes introduced in 2020 went beyond what was necessary to ensure public safety. They jeopardised the ability for clubs and ranges to provide a safe environment for New Zealanders to learn, practise, and compete, and placed some ranges at risk of closing.

The Arms (Shooting Clubs, Shooting Ranges and Other Matters) Amendment Bill will:

• maintain the regulatory requirements for pistol clubs and ranges but streamline annual reporting requirements;
• simplify the regulatory requirements for non-pistol clubs and ranges by replacing the approval and certification systems with a more effective enrolment system;
• require non-pistol clubs to be incorporated only if they sell ammunition, unless all ammunition sold by the club is purchased for, and used, on the day of sale at the club range or event and is not taken off the premises;
• support the operation of temporary non-pistol ranges to enable the holding of club events, as long as the Firearms Safety Authority is informed; and
• provide certainty about when inspections for compliance can occur and clarify what can be removed when an inspection is conducted, to reduce the burden on operators.

“The focused consultation undertaken by the Ministry of Justice provided valuable insights, and I am confident that the changes, once implemented, will deliver better public safety outcomes, while reducing unnecessary requirements to better support shooting clubs and ranges to comply.”

“Firearms reform is a priority for the Government and today’s announcement delivers on a commitment made in the National-ACT coalition agreement.”

The Bill will have its first reading before being referred to select committee for at least four months, where all interested parties will have the opportunity to have their say on the proposals.

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