Dean Jacqui: Arms (Military Style Semi-Automatic Firearms and Import Controls) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Dean Jacqui: Arms (Military Style Semi-Automatic Firearms and Import Controls) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:672;Page:18545] 
JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) 
: 
 The Arms (Military Style Semi-automatic Firearms and Import Controls) Amendment Bill is clearly about arms safety and I do not think that anybody across the House or indeed any member of the Law and Order Committee will be at odds with that basic principle. Indeed Mr Cosgrove’s contribution just now confirms that I suspect we will have broad agreement about the requirements of this bill to capture elements of firearms safety for many reasons. We know that these military-style semi-automatic firearms and replica firearms are used in the passage of crime. That does not make life easy for the police; therefore we need to do some work on that issue. 
It seems to me having a look at the bill for the first time that there is a need to define what is meant by a military-style semi-automatic firearm as opposed to one with a sporting configuration. I imagine Mr Assistant Speaker Roy you may well know this as well: a sporting configuration means that one holds the firearm to one’s shoulder and goes out to shoot ducks with it and other pursuits. That is a sporting configuration. The pistol grip configuration on the other hand is something that I imagine as it is described is held in the hand but is not balanced against the shoulder and is used—no; you see already I am finding myself wallowing in the mire of not understanding the difference in definition between a pistol grip and a sporting configuration. That is exactly why we need to have a good select committee process in examining the contents of the bill. What I do understand is that the inclusion of the definition of “pistol grip” in regulation provides some flexibility going forward so that when there are different manufacturing standards in relation to pistol grips that can be encapsulated so that manufacturers of pistol grip firearms cannot get ahead of the legislation. The legislation is anticipating different styles of pistol grip. 
I think the gentleman who came to see me a year ago in Waimate and who was very concerned about air pistols and replica firearms had a very important message for me. I certainly listened to him with a great deal of close attention. He had a great and genuinely held concern about the number of firearms that were coming into New Zealand and he had quite a thick magazine or catalogue of those firearms. His concern was that there was little regulation in relation to the import of those firearms. I listened to that gentleman with close interest and in fact I raised the issue in Government. I was able to tell him that yes there was some work being done on that issue and indeed here we are this evening with the first reading of this bill. I notice that his concerns will also be addressed within the contents of this bill. 
My contribution will be short because clearly the select committee will be spending a lot of time receiving expert advice on the contents of this bill. I too hope we have a number of submitters. I will be listening to them very closely. This is a good bill. We must remember that the reason this bill has been brought to the House is this Government’s desire to enhance firearms safety. I commend the bill to the House.