Regulator’s Secret Five-Gun Cap and New Buy-Back Plan Exposed
Licensed firearm owners seeking answers from Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand
Leaked confidential advice proposed capping licensed owners and another buy-back.
The New Zealand Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (COLFO) has written to Dr Kelvin Watson, the new Chief Executive of Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand (FSENZ), seeking answers on a leaked proposal by the then Police-controlled regulator to cap licensed firearm owners at five firearms and run another buy-back.
On Friday, the Sporting Shooters Association of New Zealand (SSANZ) published an excerpt of a document it says the then Firearms Safety Authority (FSA) submitted to the Ministry of Justice in early 2025 as changes it wanted to the old Arms Act. The page, marked "IN CONFIDENCE", states that "75,688 licence holders have registered their firearms, with an average of 5 firearms per licence holder." It concludes that non-prohibited firearms "should be capped at 5, with any more requiring approval from the regulator prior to purchase", and proposes a buy-back for owners to sell "surplus" firearms to the government.
"A five-firearm cap makes as much sense as telling a golfer they can only carry five clubs, or a chef they can only own five knives," said COLFO Public Spokesperson Hugh Devereux-Mack. "Different jobs need different tools. Licensed firearm owners have specific firearms for specific tasks: hunting different animals, in different terrain and environments, at different ranges. So do many competition disciplines. Many owners also hold heirloom firearms passed down through their families, or collections.
"Most importantly, none of this increases the risk to public safety when firearms are stored in line with the law.
"The authorities champion the firearms register as the way to counter illicit supply and diversion. So which is it? Either the register is ineffective, or it already makes a cap on licensed owners irrelevant, needlessly restrictive and of no benefit to public safety. 'Proliferation' among licensed owners should not be treated as a risk."
"We thank SSANZ for uncovering this document. It is unacceptable that while the Police-controlled regulator told licensed firearm owners it wanted to work with them and rebuild trust, it quietly (without any consultation) asked the Ministry of Justice for a cap and prior approval from the regulator to purchase any more, and another buy-back," Mr Devereux-Mack said.
"There is no basis in evidence or public safety for any of this. Taking an average and turning it into a limit is arbitrary. It would have crippled lawful ownership and hit retailers, hunters and sport shooters hard. This is an anti-gun agenda uncovered. It is two-faced, double-dealing."
The excerpt also justifies the cap by citing New Zealand's obligation "to prevent attacks directed against civilian objects and/or civilians", language from the laws of armed conflict. The UN's actual firearms commitments, Agenda 2030 target 16.4 (to significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows) and the UN Firearms Protocol, target illicit trafficking and organised crime, not lawful ownership.
"Whoever wrote this and leaned on that UN obligation was badly misinformed, negligent, or intentionally misrepresenting what the UN document states," Mr Devereux-Mack said.
COLFO's Trust and Confidence surveys have repeatedly found that licensed firearm owners do not trust Police as an authority or as an organisation. That finding is about the organisation, not individual officers. Though the Firearms Safety Authority (and newly minted FSENZ) scored marginally higher on the 2026 survey, revelations such as these put their future at risk of falling victim to the same mistrust that plagued the FSA under Police control.
"Regulators are entitled to give advice to Ministers. But that advice should be based on evidence and open to scrutiny, not a confidential wishlist that the people affected only find out about through intense scrutiny of secondary documents. If FSENZ wants the trust of licensed firearm owners, it should openly publish the policy advice it gives and the evidence behind it," Mr Devereux-Mack said.
"We have asked the now FSENZ to confirm whether it disowns these proposals, to release the full document, and to commit to policy based on published evidence, not caps with no public safety evidence or proof of outcomes.
"Every licensed firearm owner should raise this with candidates and MPs. Ask every candidate, whatever their party, where they stand, and join an advocacy group like COLFO or SSANZ. We are warning you what is coming."
COLFO's letter, sent today, asks for a response by Friday 23 October 2026 and a meeting with Dr Watson.
ENDS
Read COLFO's Letter Here:
About COLFO
The New Zealand Council of Licensed Firearms Owners Inc. (COLFO) is the national umbrella body for licensed firearm owners in New Zealand. It represents more than 13 member organisations across hunting, rifle shooting, clay target shooting and airsoft, and has been an incorporated society since 1996.
Media contact
Hugh Devereux-Mack
New Zealand Council of Licensed Firearms Owners
Email: hugh@colfo.org.nz
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