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Neville Dodd
President
Sporting Shooters Association of New Zealand Inc
“Creating a massive empire with hundreds of new staff is not the answer to solving the woes of the police Firearm Safety Authority” says Neville Dodd the president of the Sporting Shooters Association of New Zealand. This in response to revelations that a police internal survey of arms control staff found many flaws in the system, not least the lack of training and support for staff:
Dodd said, “We have been saying since 2017 that the system was failing, including the diversion of funds to other Police functions, as documented in the Police Annual report of 2018. The Commission of Inquiry into March 2019 proved us right when it concluded that police had failed in their duty to properly administer firearms licensing.
The problem now is that rushed law changes made by the Labour government have made everything so complicated that few people really understand the law and its regulations. As a result, licensed firearm owners have lost trust and confidence in the police, and non-compliance is sure to become a real issue, especially following the massive fee hikes proposed by the new FSA Empire builders.
For successful domestic arms control what is needed is simple laws that are easy to understand and follow, with less red tape and a rebuilding of trust between the police/regulators and the firearm-owning community. Laws must be aimed at targeting those who perpetrate crime rather than those who live peacefully in our communities.
This can only be achieved by collaboration between all parties, where the police are supporters of the firearm community rather than the oppressors they have become since 2019.
