Proposed shooting club and range amendments to clarify inspection rules

The Arms (Shooting Clubs, Shooting Ranges and Other Matters) Amendment Bill – which seeks to enhance public safety through updating the regulation of pistol and non-pistol shooting clubs and ranges – passed its first reading in Parliament.

“Our clubs and ranges provide a safe environment for New Zealanders to learn, practise, and compete,” said Nicole McKee, New Zealand’s associate justice minister, in a news release.

These spaces, which allow New Zealanders to be taught on how to operate firearms safely, serve “as the eyes and ears of the firearms community,” McKee explained.

“Changes imposed in 2020 went beyond what was necessary to keep the public safe and instead jeopardised the future of some ranges,” McKee added in the national government’s news release.

The Bill aims to streamline annual reporting requirements while maintaining the regulatory requirements for pistol clubs and ranges. The proposed amendments will also update the approval and certification systems with a new enrolment system in an effort to simplify the regulatory requirements for non-pistol clubs and ranges.

The contemplated changes will also require the incorporation of a non-pistol club if it sells ammunition except if the club buys and uses all the ammunition that it sells on the day of sale at the club range or event and ensures that the ammunition stays within the premises.

The legislative updates seek to support the operation of temporary non-pistol ranges for the purpose of holding club events, provided that the Firearms Safety Authority has been informed. The proposed changes will also clarify when compliance inspections can occur and what can be removed in the event of an inspection to decrease the burden on operators.

Select committee process

McKee emphasised that firearms reform is a priority and that the contemplated legislative changes are a part of the government’s commitment as expressed in the National-ACT coalition agreement.

“We promised New Zealanders they would be able to have their say on our firearms reforms and with the Arms (Shooting Clubs, Shooting Ranges and Other Matters) Amendment Bill going to select committee, people now have that opportunity,” McKee said in the news release of the national government.

McKee urged everyone interested to provide their feedback via the select committee process, which will last at least four months.

“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,” McKee said in a prior news release.