On Sunday the government announced it will spend an extra $ 562 Million on the police.

"Much of the money is focused on firearms, with $208m being spent establishing a new Firearms Business Unit within police, that will oversee the new Firearms Register."

The stated reason for the firearms register is because "we don’t know how many firearms there are in New Zealand". And as Sporting Shooters Association Media Director Rob Cope -Williams says “We never will, because while law abiding citizens may register their firearms the criminals who use them to cause mayhem in our communities never will.”

So effectively the government is spending $208 Million on an attempt to satisfy their curiosity that is doomed to failure. As has been demonstrated in other jurisdictions gun registers have been proven to be ineffective in solving crime, so how will an expensive register make New Zealand safer, at a time when so many Kiwis await elective surgery and cancer treatment.

"It is well known in the firearm community that the existing register of handguns and restricted weapons is riddled with errors, and that only covers about 7,000 licence holders, so how accurate will the new register be when it has to cater for all the firearms of 242,000 licensed firearm owners." Said Cope -Williams.

"The government is spending $ 208 Million on law abiding licensed firearm owners who are not a problem, while spending less than $100 Million ($ 94.5 Million) on organised criminals, who are the problem, where is the logic in that? Just imagine the difference that could be made to the safety of the public, and police, if all of that money (more than $300 Million) was spent on dealing with the gangs.”

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