Prime Willow-JeanWILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour—Northland): Kia ora. Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. Thank you Madam Speaker and thank you for the opportunity to take what will be a briefish" call on the first reading of the Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Bill. Just today actually I saw a headline that I found quite alarming and it was about knowingly supplying a firearm to gang members. It was timely because we're talking about this bill—we're debating this bill—in the House tonight and I will come back to that as one of the key points of this legislation. It has really concerned me that I feel like I'm seeing an increasing number of reports in my communities in Northland—shared by Northland police for example—of more gun violence and more gun seizures. There was a report just yesterday in Kaitāia and five days ago there was another report in the paper. There were reports in December; and there were reports in November. I think that this piece of legislation is timely and I am speaking in full support of it.The Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Bill is another step that we are taking to ensure that our communities are safer. It's thanks to this Government's record investment in police that we have the largest police workforce ever. Our police are out there on the streets every day keeping our communities safe. I want to talk about Operation Tauwhiro which has targeted the disruption and prevention of firearms-related violence by criminal gangs and organised criminal groups. Since it was launched 1369 firearms and 52.87 kilograms of methamphetamine have been seized and 1161 people have been arrested in relation to firearm offences. We have a huge issue in Aotearoa New Zealand and I hope that this piece of legislation is going to be another step that we can take to protect our communities.This bill will make it illegal for high-risk people to own firearms by introducing firearms prohibition orders (FPOs). That will strengthen action taken already to combat the influence of gangs and organised crime to help keep New Zealanders and their families safe. FPOs will protect the public from harm by prohibiting high-risk people from accessing being around or using firearms and breaching the conditions of firearms prohibition orders will be a criminal offence.I did just want to refer to the Minister's opening speech which I was here for at the beginning of the debate. I'm just going to pull it up here. One of the points that she made which I was particularly interested in—and as I am a member of the Justice Committee I hope that through submissions we will be able to explore this further. She made the comment that this bill aims to reduce firearm offending and victimisation and that it will help reduce victimisation of Māori and the impact of firearms-related violence on Māori communities. She then went on to say that Māori have experienced a worrying growth in serious firearm offences perpetrated on their communities and whānau. The incidence of these crimes on these communities has almost doubled over the last 10 years. The serious firearms-related criminal harm that is their lived experience is now close to double that of the general population too. As a Māori member on the Justice Committee I hope we receive submissions in relation to this so that we can explore that further during that process because that is as I referred to at the opening of my speech what I am sensing and noticing within our communities and why I am supporting this legislation. I also want to go back to what I mentioned in the beginning of my speech: how in this legislation it is actually proposed that if you knowingly supply somebody with one of these orders with a firearm that will be captured by this legislation and that will be an offence. In the news today: "[a] gun licence holder "gladly" supplied firearms to [a] gang member". The judge accepted the Crown's submission that "it is hard to imagine more serious offending than what you did. You supplied a person who you knew was a gang member with lethal weapons and you did so in a covert and underhanded way … voluntarily willingly and gladly." Willingness to supply weapons to people who are prohibited is a serious issue and I am glad that the legislation that we are introducing tonight is proposing that that be an offence under this legislation as well. With that I commend the bill to the House."