Associate Minister of Justice In The South To Talk Gun Reforms

Associate Minister of Justice Hon Nicole McKee jokes that her portfolios include guns, booze, sex and dirty money.

Speaking to whatsoninvers.nz following her attendance at the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association annual general meeting in Invercargill on Saturday, the ACT MP gave members an update on the firearms reforms.

Legislation passed earlier this year to support the continued safe operation of shooting clubs and ranges, which she described as an important step towards modernising firearms laws and ensuring they were fairly regulated in a manner that supported public safety.

The Arms (Shooting Clubs, Shooting Ranges, and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2025 was developed as part of the Government’s four phased approach to firearms reform. 

Following the mosque attacks in Christchurch, law changes in 2020 restricted the regulation of clubs and ranges, and their certification became expensive.

In November 2022, a unit within the New Zealand police was established to regulate firearms.  

Nicole was currently working to rewrite the Arms Act that had been in place for over 40 years, that would see the Firearms Safety Authority transferred from police to another government department.

She expected a new Arms Act Bill to be introduced by the end of the year,” my expectation is, and we’re on track, to have this policy decision before the end of the term.”

From that, she expected the new Act would be implemented between 2026-2029.

Representatives from every branch of the deerstalkers association attended Saturday’s meeting at the Ascot Park Hotel, but Nicole said some of the members were still anxious about the new reforms and what that meant for them.

“It’s not just in Invercargill but everywhere, about what’s in the bill.  They want the detail.  But I can’t give it to them…. but we’re close and there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

The Ministry of Justice received 8500 submissions on the rewrite of the new Arms Act - something that hadn’t been updated since 1983.

Nicole was also affected personally, having been a member of the deerstalkers association for 25 years and representing New Zealand in multiple disciplines.

She also had a firearms safety background and had been a qualified instructor for two decades - owning her own business that contracted to NZ Police.

“This is not about me writing the bill as such but the content and what society would like to see.”