McKee Nicole; O'Connor GregFIREARMS PROHIBITION ORDERS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILLThird 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 third time. I am pleased to bring this bill to its third reading. Today marks yet another important milestone in this Government's ongoing commitment to reducing violent crime and restoring law and order. This bill is the first phase of my work programme to reform New Zealand's outdated firearms law with the priority of keeping our community safe from the threat of illegally held firearms in the hands of gangs and other violent offenders. The bill was developed as part of the Government's 100-day plan and gives police the tools that they need to keep firearms out of the hands of gangs and other high-risk offenders. It progresses the Government's commitment to reduce violent crime restore law and order and keep our communities safe. To recap for the House firearms prohibition orders—or FPOs—are orders made by the court when offenders have committed serious violent offences. They are not granted lightly and therefore are in force for 10 years prohibiting offenders from holding a firearms licence and from accessing firearms or even being around them. Breaching the conditions of an FPO is a criminal offence and orders that willingly breach them can be liable for up to seven years in prison. This imprisonment term reflects how seriously we as a Government are taking the threat of violence with firearms in our communities.The FPO regime has been in place since 2022 and this bill strengthens the existing regime. It provides police with a practical tool to enforce compliance and it sends a strong message that the buck stops here because this Government is committed to addressing violent crime. This bill makes three key improvements to the existing FPO regime. First the bill expands the qualifying criteria which allows the court to make an FPO with this expansion focused on targeting gang members who offend with illegally held firearms. It does this by specifying additional offences that mean a member or associate of a gang if convicted can be issued with an FPO. These offences are gang-related offences in the Crimes Act 1961 the Arms Act 1983 the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 and the Psychoactive Substances Act 2013. These are offences like assault robbery illicit drug manufacture unlawful possession of a firearm and illegal supply of prohibited firearms. This change responds to concerns from the public about the risks posed by gang members and gang associates using firearms to inflict violence and intimidate New Zealand's communities. Secondly the bill establishes a process by which an FPO may be varied modified or revoked. An individual is subject to an FPO for a considerable length of time but we recognise that within this time these circumstances may change and people can genuinely rehabilitate. If they achieve this they may no longer pose a risk to public safety. To address this the bill's changes mean anybody with an FPO will be able to request the court to vary or revoke that FPO. They will be eligible to do this at the mid-point of the FPO which is after five years have passed. Before varying a condition the court must be satisfied the condition is no longer necessary to prevent the person from accessing possessing or using any firearms. Before revoking an FPO the court must be satisfied that the FPO is no longer necessary reasonable and appropriate to assist in managing risks to public safety.Thirdly the bill gives police a new search power to monitor compliance with an FPO. Currently police do not have any specific search powers for monitoring an individual's compliance with an FPO. Police rely on general search powers associated with firearms set out in the Search and Surveillance Act 2012. The officer must suspect an offence involving a firearm has occurred. The bill amends the Search and Surveillance Act giving police the ability to search to monitor compliance with an FPO. The officer must have reasonable grounds to believe that person is subject to an FPO and the search must only be conducted for the purpose of checking whether the person is complying with the conditions of that FPO not to locate evidence of other offending. Misuse of this power such as searching for an ulterior purpose or excessively or at unreasonable times could be found to be unreasonable under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. This bespoke search power means police can proactively monitor compliance with FPOs to ensure those individuals who have been deemed a risk to public safety are not accessing firearms. The bill comes into effect six months after it is passed providing time to prepare guidance for police officers and court staff and to make necessary IT system changes. Together the changes in the bill address the unacceptable levels of gang-related violence public intimidation and crimes involving firearms that have outraged New Zealanders. The changes keep firearms out of the hands of criminals thereby reducing violent crime and ultimately restoring safety in our communities for the benefit of all New Zealanders. I want to again thank the Justice Committee and this House for their thorough and mindful consideration of the bill as well as the officials who have worked diligently on this bill. My thanks go to every member of the public who submitted on the bill. Their valuable input has fine-tuned this bill to ensure it best addresses the unacceptable levels of gang-related violence intimidation and crimes involving firearms that are impacting our communities. By passing this bill we are keeping our promise to all New Zealanders to restore law and order in this country and make sure criminals are held accountable for their offending. I commend this bill to the House. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): The question is the motion be agreed.