Daily review 25/06/2024

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, June 25th, 2024 - 12 comments
Categories: Daily review - Tags:

Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

12 comments on “Daily review 25/06/2024 ”

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  1. Ad 1
    25 June 2024 at 7:46 pm

    Does anyone have a gun background that they can do a post on this proposed rollback of the semiautomatic weaponry and the gun registry?

    • Cricklewood 1.1
      25 June 2024 at 8:17 pm

      I don't but the recent articles around the Alfacarbines https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/the-gangsters-gun-of-choice-dozens-of-straw-buyers-suspected-of-diverting-227-alfa-carbine-rifles-into-the-black-market-according-to-police/FQAWIOVJDVED5MB33LZ6UO2CMM/ (paywall sadly) has some interesting snippets. I take from it that its a gun almost made to be modified into a pistol and that Police seem to be manually checking records for unusual purchases. Seems to me a decent algorithim or even AI couple with a 48hour wait period would do a better job of keeping guns out of the wrong hands than a registry or semi auto ban.

    • Maurice 1.2
      25 June 2024 at 11:14 pm

      Sem- automatic firearms.

      Presently Police have 6,000 semi-automatic rifles (actually “on the street”) and the Army 20,000 select fire versions. Also a number of Licence holders with “P” endorsements have about 3,000 for use in serious pest control and in collections. The proposal is to extend this to allow limited use for international competition sports. These international sports have been drastically affected by the centre-fire semi-automatic rifle ban.

      There are also still many, many semi-automatic shotguns (limited to 5 rounds capacity) and semi-automatic .22LR ‘rabbit shooting’ rifles (limited to ten round capacity) lawfully in the hands of ordinary Licence holders presently.

      The only “roll back” proposed is for limited use of centre-fire semi-automatic rifles and shotguns in International sport shooting on certified rifle ranges. These would require a specific endorsement on the firearms licence with increased vetting and security.

      The firearm registry

      Previously pistols, machine guns, and other restricted firearms were recorded against the licence owners who possessed them. About 9,000 Licence holders with endorsements with less than about 100,000 various firearms. It has been a constant effort to keep the information correct and up to date and a large job for Police to check these firearms where abouts and description/serial numbers nominally once a year.

      The present effort to register all firearms involves ALL licence holders (234,745 people) and ALL firearms plus major parts. There are at least 1.5 million firearms and may be as many as 2.5 million in New Zealand. As at January 2024 25,052 licence holders have registered 119,514 firearms and 5,460 major parts. There are still nearly ten times as many licence holders and firearms/parts to be processed. Once recorded each licence holder will need to be checked and firearms inspected at least biannually for the Register to be in any way effective. The magnitude of the project rapidly becomes apparent.

      At present just the recording/licencing process and set up is said to be costing about $1 million a week. The cost can do nothing other than rise as it gets bigger and inspections begin. As does not count the inspection of individual licence holders and their firearms; about 120,000 inspections a year, if done bi-annually which will be a monumental cost in Police time and money – when we do not have enough of either at present.

      All this just to keep lists of the firearms that licence holders have after being stringently vetted for being fit and proper and TOTALLY ignoring unlawful possession by unlicenced persons.

      This cannot be cost effective nor sustainable in the long term.

      Numbers from here: https://www.firearmssafetyauthority.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2024-02/firearms-public-dashboard-january2024.pdf

      • Ad 1.2.1
        26 June 2024 at 8:36 am

        Helpful commentary Maurice thankyou.

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.2.2
        26 June 2024 at 8:39 am

        licence holders have after being stringently vetted for being fit and proper

        Brenton Tarrant

        • Maurice 1.2.2.1
          26 June 2024 at 10:12 am

          A total failure of Police vetting exacerbated by crucial parts of the process being moved 'on line' – by a Government committee chaired by …. the then Prime Minister. There is a whole Rabbit Warren of blame and consequences still unravelling.

          A much more robust face to face system is now in place and has been since the law change that Tarrant forced. By wasting Police resources on the expensive and time consuming Register the vetting system could once again be made less than optimal. The same Police Firearms Safety Authority is presently tasked with the Register and Licencing – though that is proposed to be moved to Internal Affairs or perhaps Department of Justice due to past Police failures.

        • Maurice 1.2.2.2
          26 June 2024 at 11:01 am

          Also note that Tarrant held an ordinary firearms licence with no Endorsements. The endorsements have always attracted much more stringent vetting. Any centre-fire semi automatics are now held on a "P" Endorsement and any used for use in sport would also be held on an Endorsement.

          BTW: One of Tarrant’s avowed purposes was to force firearms law change – in his (now prohibited) ‘manifesto’ along with a revelation that he had ‘green’ sympathies …

          “Rabbit Warrens” abound!

  2. Ad 2
    25 June 2024 at 7:59 pm

    Take 42 minutes of your life and remember the 1959 version of "The New Zealanders"; vast underpopulated beaches beside state-managed egalitarian mythic perfection from cradle to grave.