11. Question No. 11—PoliceNICOLE McKEE (ACT) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 11—Police11. NICOLE McKEE (ACT) to the Minister of Police: Is he satisfied with the Police's firearms administration ability given there were over 3000 licensed firearms owners waiting at least four months for their licence renewals in June 2022 and does he believe that licensed firearms owners should be satisfied with these wait times too?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Police): While I've got confidence in the Police's ability to manage the current wait list I acknowledge that for some law-abiding firearms licence holders the delays they're currently experiencing are frustrating and they shouldn't have to be satisfied with that. We do need to get our licensing regime to one that's timely fair and frankly that's operating in a 21st century manner and there is still more work to do. I acknowledge that there is also an important job to be done in clearing the current backlog before we see a significant increase in demand over the coming years as a result of the move to 10-year licensing some time ago.Nicole McKee: Is he aware that some pistol owners are prevented from fulfilling their legal requirement to attend a pistol club 12 times a year because they are having to wait so long for Police to renew their endorsement?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I thank the member for her question. I am aware that there are some issues with the delays. That is something that I've been in conversations with the Police about particularly around how they can better triage licence applications so that where there's a pressing need—for example where it is difficult for people to comply where there's an employment-related reason—for the firearms renewal to be fast tracked they are doing that. I've certainly been having those conversations with the Police.Nicole McKee: Is he comfortable with the idea of licensed firearms owners taking their guns out of their safes placing them in the boot of their car and having them drive around the country to store them in the safes of other licensed firearms owners to avoid breaking the law because the expiry means they're no longer allowed to store them themselves?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: That is an issue that I'm concerned about and it is one that I've been having conversations with the Police about.Nicole McKee: Does he accept that these delays are causing a significant number of licensed firearms owners to unwillingly break the law and may well increase the chances of firearms falling into criminal hands?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I do accept that at the moment the Police are under a lot of pressure when it comes to firearms licence renewals and new applications as well and that is a result of the decisions that this Parliament has made to make it more difficult for people to get firearms licences and to have their licences renewed. We did that for some very very good reasons but we also have to get the balance right and I acknowledge that at the moment the current delays that people are experiencing are not something that we should be willing to accept and that we should be striving to ensure that the delays are cleared as quickly as we can and that we get the system to one where licence applications and renewals are processed in a timely manner so that people don't experience those sorts of delays in the future.Nicole McKee: Will he consider issuing firearms licence extensions as the Government did previously because of delays due to COVID-19?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I wouldn't rule those sorts of measures out at this point.