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2026 Election – Political Party Responses on Firearms Policy

Updated: 4 hours ago

Published 10 August 2026

Today the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (COLFO) invited all registered political parties to respond to a set of clear policy questions ahead of the General Election.

Every party received the same briefing document and the same invitation.


You can read the full briefing here:


Parties were also offered the opportunity to appear on a live Digital Town Hall (held online at 7 pm on a day that suited them) to discuss firearms policy and answer moderated questions from the audience.


This page records the responses we received. All answers are published exactly as submitted, without editing. Where a party has not responded by the deadline, this is clearly marked.


Full Party Responses

These are listed in the order presented by Election.nz. Reference Document here.

The Party Response will be linked below as they are sent to COLFO. 5:00 pm, Friday 4 September 2026 was provided to them as the cut-off. After which point any parties that have not made a response will be updated to "No response received by deadline".


Party Responses:


ACT New Zealand Digital Town Hall Appearance September 21st 2026 7pm


Animal Justice Party Aotearoa New Zealand - Read Here


Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party - Read Here



Conservative Party NZ - Read Here


New Zealand First Party - No response received by deadline 4 September.

New Zealand Labour Party - No response received by deadline 4 September.

NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party - No response received by deadline 4 September.

Te Pāti Māori - No response received by deadline 4 September.

The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand Digital Town Hall Appearance September 24th 7pm.

The New Zealand National Party - No response received by deadline 4 September.


Opportunity Party - "As a party outside of Parliament, we cannot access the substantial taxpayer-funded support MPs use for research and to develop policies. Opportunity relies solely on no-strings-attached donations and a team of volunteers, so we don’t yet have a detailed policy on every issue. I will forward your invitation to our leadership team to respond." - No response received by deadline 4 September.


Vision New Zealand - No response received by deadline 4 September.


Women's Rights Party - Responded that they have no specific firearm policy.


Quick Comparison Table


This is provided for an easy comparison between parties. We suggest that you also read their full submission above to get a more complete picture of their policy positions.


Legend ✓ = Aligns with sector-preferred direction ✗ = Maintains current restrictive approach or opposes sector-preferred direction = Unclear / Did not answer / Declined to respond

Question

National

Labour

ACT

NZ First

Greens

TPM

Conservative

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis

Evidence-based law vs blanket restrictions





Standards for removing a FAL





Return to pre-2019 register model (non-A-cat only)





More objective “fit and proper” test





Limited sporting/hunting semi-automatics exemption





Partial ✓

Formal partnership with COLFO & sector





Focus enforcement on criminals, not licensed owners





Protect clubs & ranges from local government barriers





Greater independence of the regulator from Police





Funding for sector led programes including mental health









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