A plan to help quash gang warfare is being labelled a "joke" by a leading criminologist.
By Ryan Boswell
National's police spokesman Simeon Brown said firearm prohibition orders would help police quell incidents like the one unfolding in Kaiapoi, near Christchurch.
He said the law change would stop gang members from holding a firearm licence or being in the presence of a firearm. Police supported the move in 2017.
However criminology professor Dr Greg Newbold strongly disagrees.
"That's a joke, you can't," he told 1 NEWS.
"The gangs aren't legitimate firearms owners, very few of them have firearms licenses."
He said tightening gun laws "isn't going to make any difference whatsoever".
Associate Justice Minister Willie Jackson said the Government has already increased funding for police, banned military-style semi-automatic weapons, magazines and parts.
But he said that firearm protection orders are part of an ongoing package of reform and they need to be designed to fit with the recent amendments to the Arms Act.
Jackson wants further consultation, which includes achieving the right balance between "impacts on human rights and protecting public safety".
Three people have now been charged in relation to the double shooting in Kaiapoi, including unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition.
Two men remain in Christchurch hospital with bullet wounds, but are both in a stable condition.
Police would not reveal what the relationship is between those charged and the injured.
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