New Zealand PM acts to tighten gun laws further

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern introduced a new bill to parliament on Friday that aims to further tighten gun laws.

A new firearms register, announced by the Government today, will help stop the flow of guns into the criminal underground's black market, Ardern said.

This is New Zealand’s second set of gun reforms after weak firearm laws were identified as a key reason why a suspected white supremacist was able to own semi-automatic weapons that he used to kill people gathered at two mosques for Friday prayers on March 15.

Australian Brenton Tarrant has been charged for the attack and has pleaded not guilty.

The new laws will introduce a firearms register, which will aim to monitor and track every firearm legally held in New Zealand.

The Police Association has been lobbying for a gun register for years but it is likely to further anger gun lobby groups already upset with the Government's buyback scheme for recently banned firearms.

The Arms Legislation Bill will also improve the authorities' ability to monitor firearms lawfully entering and exiting the country and help combat organised crime, Ardern said.

"We know that the majority of gun crime is committed by people without a licence, with firearms that have either been stolen or traded illegally," Ardern said as she announced the new gun laws in Christchurch today, six months after the mosque shootings in the city.

"Owning a firearm is a privilege not a right; that means we need to do all we can to ensure that only honest, law-abiding citizens are able to obtain firearms licences and use firearms."