“The Prime Minister’s belief that she unified the country over gun law changes is a complete fantasy”, according to ACT Leader David Seymour.
This morning on Newshub Nation, Jacinda Ardern said she didn’t accept that her Government’s gun laws had ignited debate or that she had failed to bring the country with her.
“The reality is that, in the wake of Christchurch, Jacinda Ardern and her Government scapegoated a community of 250,000 law-abiding New Zealanders for something it didn’t do.
“It forced through complex law changes in just nine day, without any meaningful consultation with the firearms community, and is offering inadequate compensation to many firearms owners.
“In fact, it is still shifting the goalposts on gun owners, by changing the rules with just 21 days remaining on the gun ‘buy-back’.
“The idea that we are more unified as a result of the Government’s rushed and haphazard firearms legislation shows how out of touch the Prime Minister is.
“The results of the ‘buy-back’ reflect a deep scepticism. Just 41,000 of potentially 240,000 firearms have been handed in. With 21 days to go, 83 per cent of firearms remain uncollected.
“The law-abiding firearms community is sceptical about the process because it was not treated with dignity and respect.
“Jacinda Ardern promised to do politics differently. She could have brought all of the affected parties together to design new gun laws.
“Instead, she chose the time-honoured tradition of responding to a crisis by scapegoating a group of people. That lack of leadership means we are more divided than ever.”