Andersen GinnyGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour—Hutt South): Thank you Madam Speaker. New Zealanders deserve to feel safe in their homes and safe in their communities. That is why this Government is introducing firearms prohibition orders an additional tool in the tool kit to reduce gun crime and also to reduce organised crime in New Zealand.This bill enables a court to make a firearms prohibition order—or an FPO—for any person who's aged over 18 years who has been convicted of a serious criminal offence. Qualifying offences for an FPO are a serious firearms order or a serious violent offence. Those people who are subject to an FPO are required to meet a number of conditions. It means they would not be able to be around firearms stay where firearms are stored or be available join or visit a shooting range participate in any activity that involves firearms and also visit places where firearms are made repaired or modified.It's important to note that this bill enables flexibility for the court to take into consideration a person's rehabilitation and reintegration needs. It's important to have that flexibility to enable a subject person to reside or work in a place where guns may be stored such as a farm place. The court can provide for this flexibility through a tailored court order.The bill also provides a tiered approach to offenders. The lower order penalty which would be available for breaches of a standard special condition would be punishable by a term of up to two years in prison. The higher order penalty would see someone who has committed a breach of the broad condition imprisoned for up to five years or up to even seven years if that breach involved a prohibited firearm. This is consistent with similar unlawful possession offences. There are also penalties for knowingly supplying a firearm to a person with a firearms prohibition order. This is particularly important in the organised criminal space. This bill aims to reduce firearm offending and victimisation that will help reduce crime in New Zealand and will help make an impact in that space.Introducing FPOs sits alongside a record number of police in the front line with specific focus on gangs and organised crime. Thanks to this Government's investment in police we have the largest police workforce ever. Police are out there every day outside this building keeping our communities safe. New Zealand will have over 700—700—officers specifically focused on organised crime; far more than when that member opposite the Hon Mark Mitchell was a police officer.Over the last year Operation Tauwhiro 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 with 1161 having been arrested in relation to firearm offences.This Government is hitting gangs where it hurts: in their pockets. Already this Government has seized $500 million in cash and assets from gangs and criminals in four years alone. Translated that's an equivalent to $1.6 billion from the illicit economy; an economy that profits from guns drugs criminal offending and exploiting our communities.But we cannot simply arrest our way out of a problem. Firearms prohibition orders and law enforcement alone will not resolve such a complex issue. We can't be tough on crime without addressing the underlying causes of crime. We must continue our efforts to break the cycle of gang violence in order to reduce the harm in our communities—in particular Māori communities that are disproportionately affected each day.Budget 2021 provided $70 million for the expansion of Te Pae Oranga or iwi justice panels. Te Pae Oranga panels don't just look at what happened when someone offended; they also look at the underlying reasons why someone offended what's going on in peoples' lives and give participants and victims a chance to have their say. They're working. Already they've been shown to reduce the harm from reoffending by 22 percent. When we reduce reoffending we reduce victimisation.In comparison to this what have the National Party achieved? They were talking about firearms prohibition orders in 2008 back when Simeon Brown was still in church kindy. When they were in Government they were asleep at the wheel and in Opposition they're asleep in the backseat with a cashmere blanket pulled down overhead listening to a bit of Mike Hosking or Michael Bublé if you're Paul Goldsmith—true story.This bill extends arms control in New Zealand. It will provide additional measures wider sanctions and controls targeted at those who have serious criminal convictions and who are hardened to crime. We want to prevent those people from accessing firearms with the key means for perpetrating future violent—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Order! With apologies to the member I've warned the House once in this debate already: interjections will be rare and they will be reasonable. A barrage of shouting is not acceptable.GINNY ANDERSEN: New Zealanders deserve to feel safe in their homes and their communities. This bill is just one tool of many delivered by this Government to make our communities safer. I commend it to the House.