New Zealand parliament approves tough new gun laws

The New Zealand parliament has approved a bill severely curbing citizens' access to firearms in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks.

The Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines and Parts) Amendment Act outlaws pump-action shotguns that can hold more than five shots, semi-automatic weapons, military-style assault rifles and any parts which could be used to make a legal firearm semi-automatic, reports state-owned broadcaster TVNZ.

Ministers voted by 119 to one to approve the Bill, which was announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern days after a white nationalist gunman shot dead 50 people at two mosques in March.

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The lone holdout was David Seymour, leader of the right-wing libertarian ACT Party and its only MP. Seymour had criticised the Bill, arguing that it had been rushed through parliament too quickly in a knee-jerk response to the massacre.

Before MPs voted, Ardern “took the unusual step” of speaking at the third reading of the Bill, says the New Zealand Herald.

The PM said that she had realised how important it was to reform the country’s gun law after learning that Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant had obtained his arsenal legally.

“I could not fathom how weapons that could cause such destruction and large-scale death could have been obtained legally in this country,” she told MPs.

New Zealanders have until 30 September to turn in any now-illegal firearms or parts and register for compensation under a government buy-back scheme.

Ardern said that the buy-back programme, projected to cost up to NZ$200m (£104m), was “the price that we must pay to ensure the safety of our communities”.

Announcing the measures last month, the PM said: “I strongly believe that the vast majority of legitimate gun owners in New Zealand will understand that these moves are in the national interest, and will take these changes in their stride.”

There are an estimated 1.5 million guns in New Zealand in total - “about one for every three citizens”, notes New Zealand news website Stuff. Around 13,500 of these guns are thought to be military-style semi-automatic weapons.