McKee NicoleFIREARMS PROHIBITION ORDERS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILLSecond ReadingHon NICOLE McKEE (Associate Minister of Justice): I seek leave to present a legislative statement on the Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Leave has been sought for that course of action. Is there any objection? There is none. That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon NICOLE McKEE: I move That the Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill be now read a second time.This bill was developed earlier in the year as part of the Government's 100-day plan. It gives police the tools that they need to keep firearms out of the hands of gangs and other high-risk offenders. This bill advances our commitment to reduce violent crime restore law and order and keep our community safe. Firearms Prohibition Orders or FPOs are orders made by the court when offenders have committed serious violent offences. They are in force for 10 years and prohibit these offenders from holding a firearms licence and from being around or accessing firearms. Breaching the conditions of an FPO is a criminal offence and offenders that do can be liable for up to seven years in prison.The FPO regime has been in place since 2022 but was largely without teeth. This bill makes three key improvements to particularly target gangs and organised criminal groups. It expands the qualifying criteria for the court to make an FPO it gives police a new search power to monitor compliance with an FPO and it establishes a process by which an FPO may be modified or removed. This provides police with another practical tool and sends a strong message that we are committed to addressing violent crime and enforcing consequences for gangs.On 26 July the Justice Committee reported the bill back to the House. I'd like to thank the Justice Committee for their careful consideration of this bill. I would also like to thank the 40 or so members of the public who took the time to provide submissions on the bill. I hugely appreciate them sharing their views with the committee. Substantial submissions had been received by the committee from the Criminal Bar Association the New Zealand Law Society the Privacy Commissioner the New Zealand Police Association the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties and the Disabled Persons Assembly.The most common themes raised by submitters were around who is captured by the definition of a gang member or associate; widening the eligible offences for gang members; and concern with the extent of the new search powers. Through their process the Justice Committee has made several amendments to address the matters most raised by submitters and sharpen the focus of the bill. These refinements specifically relate to the definition of an associate or gang or organised criminal group; the offences for which the FPO may be issued; and the extent of the new search power to ensure compliance with an FPO.The first change relates to the bill's original definition of an associate of a gang or organised group which was defined as an individual who—(a) associates with a member of a gang or an organised criminal group; and (b) is not a mere acquaintance of the member". Several submitters raised concerns that this definition could capture a broader range of acquaintances than was intended possibly including colleagues or relatives. The bill is intended to target those who associate with gangs—that is those who may not be patched members but are involved in their activities and lifestyle. To reflect this the bill now defines an associate simply as "an individual who associates with a gang or an organised criminal group". This means that the association is based on the individual's connection to a gang or an organised criminal group and its activities rather than to any particular member of that gang. This would include situations where an individual frequently attends gang events wears gang insignia or participates in criminal offending with gang members.The second change relates to the types of offences for which an FPO can be issued. Submitters raised concerns that some of the offences were fairly minor and not related to gang activities and may capture more people than was intended. To better reflect the policy intent the bill now targets offences specifically connected with firearms organised crime and violent offending. This includes crimes against a person such as kidnapping or assault and crimes against property like money laundering or burglary. These are offences that clearly demonstrate that the offender poses a risk to public safety. This recognises the sudden and significant violence that can result from gang conflict and focuses the FPO regime on gang members and gang offending.The third change relates to the new search power for the police to monitor whether someone who is subject to an FPO is complying with the conditions. This bill allows police to search someone who is subject to an FPO without a warrant without reason to suspect they are breaching the FPO or that they are committing any other offence. As a result of the Justice Committee's consideration three key refinements have been made to the search power.First there is a clear statement of the purpose of the search power—that is for monitoring compliance with an FPO. This makes it absolutely clear that the purpose is to ensure that an offender is complying with the conditions of their FPO and not to search for evidence of other offending.Second there is a higher threshold for the exercise of the search power from "reasonable grounds to suspect that a person is subject to a [FPO]" to "reasonable grounds to believe that a person is subject to a [FPO]". This allows for situations where police cannot be certain of a person's identity and therefore whether they are subject to an FPO.Third there are additional limits on the places that can be searched in connection with a person subject to an FPO—to places where the person subject to an FPO has influence control or direct access. This keeps the focus on the subject and ensures the scope for what can be searched is only as wide as it needs to be.I want to once again thank the Justice Committee for their thorough and careful consideration of the bill. Their work has finetuned it to ensure police can effectively keep firearms out of the hands of gangs and high-risk offenders. This bill forms the first phase of the Government's broader programme of firearms reform to modernise our firearms law to ensure public safety and quality regulation.In closing this bill addresses the unacceptable levels of gang-related violence public intimidation and crimes involving firearms that have so concerned New Zealanders. It will help keep firearms out of the hands of gangs and other high-risk offenders. It is another initiative to advance this Government's commitment to reducing violent crime and restoring law and order and ultimately to make our communities safer. I commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Mālō 'aupito. The question is that the motion be agreed to."