Looking to recent events in Christchurch, it’s easy to
think that New Zealand law has failed to protect the victims of
that senseless tragedy. As much as we Australians like to believe
our relatively strict gun laws will protect us from another Port
Arthur, we have said it before and the fact remains – gun
laws do not prevent a determined individual from acquiring enough
of any type of firearm to permit, in theory, mass shootings.
It seems clear that in the New Zealand context, there are many
improvements to be made in their firearms licensing laws. New
Zealand may well take its lead from the 1996 Australian reforms and
in some respects go beyond the protections offered in the
Australian context.
