Kiwis Protest New Zealand's Gun 'Buy-Back' Scheme: 'The Government Kept Saying They Weren’t Going to Rip Us Off'

Following the Christchurch mosque shootings where 51 individuals were killed by an Australian man using semi-automatic rifles and shotguns on March 15, 2019, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern amended the country’s gun laws in April to ban most military-style semi-automatics, magazines that hold more than five rounds of ammunition, and gun parts, such as special sights and silencers.

In June 2019, Prime Minister Ardern set aside more than $208 million New Zealand dollars to compensate owners, for up to 95 percent of the original cost, of newly banned firearms in a gun “buy-back” scheme. The deadline for the “buy-back” scheme is set for December 20, 2019.

Illegal firearms that have been owned without a valid firearms license are not givenany compensation.

Police estimated that only around 500 prohibited weapons have been handed in and around 3000 firearms have been marked for collection without compensation.