COLFO Responds to Desperate Play by Anti-Gun Lobby to Manipulate Public Opinion.

24 March 2026

There is an irony that GUN CONTROL NZ "co-founder Phil­ippa Yasbek said the new sur­vey showed argu­ments against stronger gun laws were held by a small but vocal group of people", when their own organisation reported a membership of just 207 individuals according to their 2025 financial filings. Read the original article here.

COLFO's position is that we stand on the side that supports fair and effective firearm laws that balance the rights of licensed firearm owners with public safety. And unlike anti-gun groups such as GCNZ, we rely on over a century's worth of practical and theoretical expertise from our team, our members, and evidence from trustworthy sources.

We support the Minister's comments that a survey with such poor methodology is not worth any serious reporting on.

Allegedly, of those sur­veyed who repor­ted to have a fire­arm in their house­hold, more than half sup­por­ted lim­it­ing the num­ber of fire­arms a per­son can own. No information was provided to verify if these people were, in fact, firearm owners or not.

COLFO's Spokesperson Hugh Devereux-Mack had this to say in response:

"It is not surprising to see that GCNZ is resorting to underhanded tactics in a final cry for relevance after years of demonstrating their total lack of credibility in the area of firearm safety and crafting fair and effective legislation."

"Now we see the University of Otago lecturer Philippa Yasbek championing a survey of people who may have no knowledge of the current NZ firearm laws, and openly priming respondents with fears of a terrorist attack to deliver a piece of anti-gun propaganda."

"To follow Yasbek's advice is to double down on the 2019 restrictions upon licensed firearm owners, which have seen gun crime soar in the years following their introduction, despite their claims that we would see positive public safety outcomes from initiatives such as the confiscation and introduction of a firearms registry."

"What is surprising is that Hori­zon Research chose to run such a survey that would undermine their entire credibility as a research organsiation. Personally, I'd be embarrassed to turn in such a poll for an undergraduate research class, let alone attempt to enter it into the public forum for subject matter experts to consider."

COLFO notes that Horizon's paid services page does state that they: Help achieve marketing goals, significantly drive sales and recruitment, and recruit donors and activists to specific campaigns.

"I do wonder upon whose shoulders this embarrassment sits, the sales team at Horizon or the lecturers at Otago University. Either way, Gun Control NZ has remained true to its co-founder Hera Cook's infamous strategy when discussing firearm laws in New Zealand;

"What I'd like to say is that I don't think we're going to achieve a great deal by talking about facts". - Hera Cook, Co-Founder of GCNZ 2020

ENDS