Labour continues to move at a glacial pace on their Firearms Prohibition Order Bill, and it won’t be back in Parliament until at least late July, National’s Police spokesperson Mark Mitchell says.

“Two more alleged shootings occurred over the weekend in Auckland and Gisborne, yet Labour’s promised Firearms Prohibition Order Bill is nowhere to be seen and Parliament is now in a three-week recess.

“It has been five years since Police recommended FPOs in a briefing to the Government, yet police are still waiting as the Bill languishes in select committee.

“National has tried twice to introduce FPOs, but Labour has voted down both attempts. Instead, they introduced a toothless Bill of their own that doesn’t have the search powers that the Police Association says are necessary.

“Frontline police and the Auckland communities that suffered through the recent 'fortnight of fear' haven’t received any sign that the new Minister is backing police. Twenty-three drive-by shootings over a fortnight are apparently not enough for FPOs to be prioritised.

“How many more shootings does the country have to go through before Labour act?

“Police urgently needed FPOs with warrantless search powers five years ago. The Labour Government loves to blame National, but it has been five years of inaction from a soft-on-crime Government. Kiwi communities are paying the price for their inaction.”