New Zealand gun laws tightened again after shootings

New Zealand further tightened its firearms laws yesterday in the wake of the last year's Christchurch mosques massacre, when a lone gunman murdered 51 Muslim worshippers.

Parliament passed legislation to establish a firearms registry to track every gun in the country and ensure only a "fit and proper person" can hold a firearms licence.

It follows a ban on military-style semi-automatic rifles and a nationwide gun buyback enacted shortly after the March 2019 killing spree by Australian national Brenton Tarrant, a self-avowed white supremacist.

Police Minister Stuart Nash said the legislation was an important step in making New Zealand a safer place after last year's "devastating" killings, the worst mass shooting in the country's modern history.

"But it does not define us, what defines us is the actions we took to stop such a terror attack happening again," he said.