The New Zealand government yesterday launched a six-month, multimillion-dollar “buy-back” scheme to compensate owners of powerful, but newly banned semi-automatic weapons prohibited in the wake of deadly attacks on two mosques in the southern city of Christchurch.
New Zealand Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Minister of Police Stuart Nash said in a joint e-mailed statement that NZ$208 million (US$136 million) had been set aside to compensate owners of the banned semi-automatic firearms up to 95 percent of the original cost.
They would have until Dec. 20 to hand in their weapons.
“Police have detailed plans in place for the next step, which is the collection of firearms from the community. It will be a huge logistical exercise and is expected to get under way in mid-July,” Nash said.
Parliament passed the gun reform law — the first substantial changes to the nation’s gun laws in decades — by a vote of 119 to 1 in April.
The vote came less than a month after the nation’s worst-ever peacetime mass shooting in which 51 people were killed and dozens injured in attacks on two mosques in Christchurch.
The new curbs bar the circulation and use of most semi-automatic firearms, parts that convert firearms into semi-automatic firearms, magazines over a certain capacity and some shotguns.
Existing gun laws had provided for a standard “A-category” gun license covering semi-automatics limited to seven shots.
Police forecast that about 14,300 semi-automatics would be covered by the new legislation, though the government said it was difficult to predict the exact number.
Almost 700 weapons had already been handed in before the compensation scheme was launched and almost 5,000 had been registered by owners with police while they awaited collection.
“There is high uncertainty around any [costs], owing to the lack of information on the number of prohibited items, their type and condition,” Robertson said, adding that better estimates of the total cost would be available once the buy-back was under way and the government would top up the amount if needed.
The government has also begun work on a second arms amendment bill to tackle issues regarding a gun registry, among other things.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday told reporters that she expected the government to announce its plans for the law in the next few weeks.
With a population of just under 5 million, New Zealand is home to an estimated total of 1.5 million firearms, making it the nation with the 17th-highest rate of civilian firearm ownership in the world, according to the Small Arms Survey.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
PINEAPPLE DEBATE: While the owners of the pizzeria dislike pineapple on pizza, a survey last year showed that over 50% of Britons either love or like the topping A trendy pizzeria in the English city of Norwich has declared war on pineapples, charging an eye-watering ￡100 (US$124) for a Hawaiian in a bid to put customers off the disputed topping. Lupa Pizza recently added pizza topped with ham and pineapple to its account on a food delivery app, writing in the description: “Yeah, for ￡100 you can have it. Order the champagne too! Go on, you monster!” “[We] vehemently dislike pineapple on pizza,” Lupa co-owner Francis Wolf said. “We feel like it doesn’t suit pizza at all,” he said. The other co-owner, head chef Quin Jianoran, said they kept tinned pineapple
RSS