Lifetime arms licence fee set

Press, 18 May 1984, Page 3

Lifetime arms licence fee set

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

Owners of firearms will only have to pay $ll for their lifetime licence under the 1984 Arms Regulations, which come into force on June 1.

The new regulations set the fee for the new firearms licence and introduce the requirement that a firearm may not be stored away with its ammunition or, if they are stored together, thal the firearm must not be Ajaoable of beine dis-

charged. Another new requirement is that every pistol or restricted weapon that does not bear a serial number must be stamped with an identifying number by the person who imports or sells it.

Weapons declared as “restricted” in the regulations are anti-tank projectors, grenade-dischargers, grenades containing explosives, molotov cocktails, machineguns, machine-pistols, mines, mortars and rocketlaunchers. C

The regulations dovetail with the requirements of the Arms Act, 1983, which requires the licensing of users of firearms rather than the firearms themselves.

The regulations give the holder of a firearm licence power to record details of their firearms and changes of address in a section of the licence document. The licence holder must also notify the police of any change of address. Fees payable under the regulations are payable only once in the life of the

licence holder. They are:— Existing licence holder, $11; replacement of a lost or defaced licence, $11; licence to a new owner or user, $27; endorsement for a pistol club member. $5O; endorsement to keep a firearm as an heirloom or memento, $11; endorsement for the curator of a museum, or an approved member of the theatre, television or filmmaking body, $ll. In the case of dealers, the licence will cost $65 and there will be an annual renewal fee of $65.