Ardern JacindaThird Reading Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister) on behalf of the Minister of Police: I move That the Arms (Prohibited Firearms Magazines and Parts) Amendment Bill be now read a third time.We are here just 26 days after the most devastating of terrorist attacks created the darkest of days in New Zealand's history and we are here as an almost entirely united Parliament. There have been very few occasions in my history when I have seen Parliament come together in this way and I cannot imagine circumstances where that is more necessary than it is now.I want to acknowledge therefore as I begin my contribution here in this third reading debate those parliamentarians who have worked so constructively in this discussion and debate. Of course that goes for our coalition and confidence and supply partners as members of this Government—I acknowledge you—but I also pay particular tribute to the Opposition who from the moment this issue around the use of these particular weapons in this terror attack arose I have found to be nothing but constructive. I acknowledge you sincerely for that.We should all be asking ourselves though why we are here in the first place at this present point in time in this third reading debate. I can recall very vividly the moment I knew that we would need to be here doing what we are doing right now. I was very early on in a briefing with the Commissioner of Police where he described to me the nature of the attack that had occurred in Christchurch. He described to me the nature of the weapons that had been used in this terror attack and then he described to me that they had been obtained legally. I could not fathom how weapons that could cause such destruction and large-scale death could have been obtained legally in this country. I could not fathom that.Now yes it is true that those weapons were modified. They were modified and that meant that they were held in form against the licence that that individual in question had but they were modified easily. I know the Finance and Expenditure Committee witnessed the ease with which a gun of that nature could be modified and not just the ease with which a gun of that nature could be modified but the ease with which a magazine could hold not just 30 bullets but could be extended to hold upwards of 60 bullets and rain terror on a group of people gathered together in worship and in peace. That is one of the reasons why we're here.We are also here because New Zealand stands apart in its widespread availability of weapons of such destructive nature and force in that military-style semi-automatic weapons are available or have been available in this country to that degree and in that assault rifles have been available in this country to that degree and today that anomaly ends.We are here because after hearing all of that information I know I was not alone in feeling that I could not hand on heart go down and face not just the media not just the public but the victims that had been left behind from this terror attack and tell them hand on heart that our system and our laws allow these guns to be available and that is OK because it was not. So I made a decision after that briefing that I would go down that day and without having the chance to question the Parliament know that Parliament would be with me and they were and again I thank you for that.We are here because we—not just me but we as a Parliament—have asked the public have taken the time that we've had in the select committee to talk to those who do use guns for legitimate purposes those who are in our rural communities our farmers who have pest management and control issues and those who legitimately use weapons for hunting purposes. When we as a Parliament and when I as an individual—because I have—asked those individuals who we absolutely accept their legitimate use Do they need military-style semi-automatic weapons? Do they need assault rifles?" their response was absolute: no. They have told us what is fair and legitimate use and they have told us that they by and large with very few exceptions support what we are doing here today.This is not a House here that is demonising legitimate use of firearms in New Zealand; quite to the contrary. In fact I see the response that we've had as an endorsement that we have acknowledged that fair and legitimate use. We've responded to that in this legislation and I hope that we have brought people with us in our response. But most importantly we are here because of the victims and families. I have to reflect that when I visited the hospitals and the victims none of them had just one gunshot wound. I struggle to recall any single gunshot wounds. In every case they spoke of multiple injuries—multiple debilitating injuries that deemed it impossible for them to recover in weeks let alone days. They will carry disabilities for a lifetime and that's before you consider the psychological impact. We are here because of them and I believe that they are here with us supporting what we are doing here today as well because these weapons were designed to kill and they were designed to maim and that is what they did on 15 March.I've listened to the debate that has happened in this House and I have heard the debate that has happened in select committee and I've heard the minority who may have spoken against this bill and I want to acknowledge it has been a minority. I don't want to overstate the submissions that they made because the majority supported what is happening here but within that minority I heard an argument around process. My question here is simple: you either believe that in New Zealand these weapons have a place or you do not. If you believe like us that they do not you should be able to agree that we can move swiftly. My view is that an argument about process is an argument to do nothing and I'm not the first politician to say that. The first politician I ever heard say that in relation to gun laws was John Howard when he moved quickly after Port Arthur and for the same reasons we have.We have moved to stop the sale and now we've moved to stop the ongoing circulation of these weapons. We allowed exemptions on 10-round .22s and we've allowed five-shot shotguns—fair and legitimate use of those weapons. We've allowed pest control and those specifically working in professional pest control to still within very tight constraints access these weapons for the tahr for the goats for those areas where we consider that use legitimate. But we will tightly manage and control those areas acknowledging though what we have heard from the rural community and our farmers.Finally we have made sure that there is compensation—there is a buy-back scheme. That's an acknowledgment that until 15 March whether we agreed with it or not it was legal to possess and purchase these weapons and now it is not. It is only fair that we put in place a compensation scheme and we have. Minister Stuart Nash has released details of that today including of course that we will use independent advice to construct essentially what will be a price list that will specify that for particular models and makes of weapons we will factor in the use and the wear and tear on those models but we will be specific and create essentially a catalogue for compensation. That will be worked up over the next few weeks. We'll make sure that the buy-back scheme operates for a six-month period once that has been resolved. We will operate fairly and that is what we have operated on those assumptions all the way through in drafting this legislation and that includes a consideration of the impact on retailers.Ultimately I'm proud that we are standing here today. I'm proud of the enormous work that the New Zealand Police have done to get us here today. I acknowledge them; it's been huge. They have worked constantly every day since 15 March and I believe it's to make our country safer. I acknowledge the select committee I acknowledge the chair: the work you've done has been incredible and important. We are ultimately here because 50 people died and they do not have a voice. We in this House are their voice and today we have used that voice wisely."