Redwood Hotel Event Room Main North Road
Maximum room capacity 200 attendees
Friday 21 March
Doors open 6.30 pm
Nicole from 7.00 pm
Attendance is by invite only for Canterbury and South Canterbury members in the first instance, then any spare places to be offered to kindred Clubs.
Questions for Nicole should be sent to Graeme by March 7th. After that, Nicole will decide whether to take additional questions from the floor on the day.
NZAAAC members should wear name badges to assist security in locating them more easily on the invitation list; other organisations are encouraged to wear their name badges or bring their
membership cards if needed.
The Canterbury Branch will cover the venue hire of $300. A gold coin donation at the door is optional; any donations will be forwarded to COLFO.
Questions for Nicole are to be submitted to Graeme by 7 March; then, we will leave it up to Nicole if she wants to take additional questions from the floor on the day
UPDATE FOR THOSE THAT MISSED OUT
Nicole sincerely thanked the Canterbury Branch for organising this event and was very appreciative of the opportunity to update members from various clubs across greater Christchurch about the four phases of her work plan:
- The prohibition order
- Clubs and Ranges Review
- Firearms regulations and the relocation of FSA to either the Ministry of Justice or Internal Affairs
- The Arms Act rewrite and the most important policy implementation phase that follows.
This was followed by Nicole answering pre-supplied questions, engaging with the audience, and
socialising.
Here are the key messages from the evening:
If we want to make a difference around the Cabinet table, we must change the hearts and minds of MPs and the 93% of voters who don’t have a firearms licence. We need to lobby MPs and inform friends and anyone else about the benefits of our interests and the impact that
oppressive laws have on law-abiding citizens, rather than those who weaponize firearms,
vehicles, and knives.
o Here’s a chance to help us all. Please email g.barber303@gmail.com
▪ impact statements regarding the current law,
▪ a list of benefits that being a law-abiding firearms user/collector has on you and your family and
▪ ideas for how to get these out further into the community.
o These will be anonymised, summarised, and widely circulated.
With 230000 firearms licenses in NZ, we make up 7% of those eligible to vote.
Following the introduction of the current act and registration, the number of licences has
dropped by 8%.
Approximately 5,000 to 6,000 submissions were received, including a petition from Gun Control with 6,000 signatures. This petition will be counted as one submission, but the report to the
government will include a note regarding the number of signatures.
The number of endorsements and the administration of the act are too complicated.
If the firearms user community is not active before and during the select committee stage (the
first reading is expected in December 2025), we will be outnumbered, which could lead
Parliament to opt for the firearms community to lose ground or, at best, stay with the status
quo.