Tō mātou pūtake
Our purpose
Possessing and using a firearm is a privilege. Our purpose is to effectively regulate the legitimate possession and use of firearms to keep all communities safe.
Following the Christchurch Mosque attacks on 15 March 2019, changes were made to the Arms Act 1983. The Arms Legislation Act 2020 further strengthened the legislative framework and improved its overall functioning.
A Royal Commission of Inquiry into the attack was completed in late 2020.
The Inquiry made further specific recommendations creating a more efficient and effective risk-based firearms licensing system.
As a result of these changes, Police is moving from being an administrator of the Arms Act by standing up Te Tari Pūreke to become an effective regulator.
In our role as regulator, we will enable fit and proper people to legitimately use firearms in New Zealand and seek to protect the public from the harm that may be caused by the misuse of firearms.
We are a business unit of Police.
Tō mātou tūranga
Our role
We are the regulator for firearms. As a new regulator, we will build trust and confidence in our ability to effectively regulate.
Te Tari Pūreke has three core functions:
- to effectively implement the firearms licensing system
- to manage the Firearms Registry
- to educate people to enable compliance and promote the safe use of legitimate firearms.
In our regulatory role, we will monitor ongoing performance and work collaboratively with others to enable us to respond to future changes in the firearms system.
Who we regulate
- Licence holders
- Dealers
- Clubs and ranges
- Collectors
- Manufacturers
Activities we regulate
- Import
- Sale
- Purchase
- Transfer
- Transport
- Storage
- Use
- Export
- Destruction
Strategic partnership with wider Police
While Te Tari Pūreke delivers the regulatory functions under the Arms Act as a separate business unit, we collaborate closely with wider Police, ensuring that operational Police have the information and insights to strengthen investigations and intelligence to mitigate risk.
Together we monitor, manage and seek to continuously improve our collaborative approach to the firearms regulatory environment.
Our Governance
Our leadership
Angela Brazier
Angela Brazier is Executive Director – Firearms, appointed to the role in September 2022.
Prior to this Angela was the Transitional Executive Director, Firearms Branded Business Unit from October 2021.
Angela has a strong history with NZ Police holding senior roles across corporate, strategic and transformational areas of both the Royal NZ Police College and Police National Headquarters since 2004. Angela has led several major change initiatives including the Policing 2021 Transformation Programme.
Angela worked in the private sector in the UK for 12 years prior to joining Police.
Richard Wilson
Richard Wilson is the Director Operations, appointed to the role in December 2021.
Prior to taking up the role of Director Operations, Richard has worked in a range of Response and Operational roles within Police. These roles include being a member of the Armed Offenders Squad in Canterbury, National Shift Commander, National Operations Manager in Response and Operations, Director for the Second Amnesty and Buyback and most recently National Manager for District Firearms Operations.
Richard was a private business owner before joining Police in 2010.
Mike McIlriath
Mike McIlriath is Director Partnerships Te Tari Pūreke, appointed to the role in October 2021.
Prior to taking up the role, Mike was the Officer in Charge of Arms Safety and Control group from May 2017 – October 2021.
Mike has extensive experience within Police, including senior leadership roles in project delivery for Frontline Safety, District Prevention Manager Southern District, Head of School Response - Royal New Zealand Police College, Area Prevention Manager Auckland City Area, and a variety of front line and support roles within different Police Districts and national service centres.
Dr Angela Mansell
Directly prior to taking up the role, Angela was at WorkSafe, Aotearoa’s primary work health and safety regulator, with responsibility for leading a systems approach and building partnerships across industries, businesses and government to deliver improved health and safety performance across the motu. Angela brings strategy, policy and regulatory expertise, with a focus on using systems thinking to lift the performance, influence and sustainability of the public service. She is passionate about building partnerships, where everyone plays their part, to deliver improved outcomes for those living in Aotearoa. Angela has published in the field of organisational development and occupational well-being and is focused on ensuring that equity, diversity and inclusion remain high on the agenda.
Phil Hanlon
Phil Hanlon is Director Change Te Tari Pūreke, appointed to the role in September 2021.
Prior to this, Phil was Director Transformation and Change for NZ Police since 2019.
Phil has an extensive background in delivering transformational change programmes over the past 15 years within organisations that have included NZ Post, Internal Affairs and Massey University. Prior to this, Phil held a number of positions leading programme office functions in the banking and insurance sectors.
Te ao Māori approach
We are grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and te ao Māori to support better outcomes for Māori and all communities.
Manaakitanga
Manaakitanga will underpin our way of working. We will protect people from harm and our approach will be based on mutual respect and caring for people.
Whakapono
As a regulator, we will act with consistency in our commitment to others. We will operate as an organisation that can be trusted.
Whanaungatanga
We will develop good working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders across the firearms regulatory system. Whanaungatanga is essential for effective regulation.
How we got our name
Our English name – Firearms Safety Authority – reflects the core purpose of the Arms Act, which is to:
- promote the safer possession and use of firearms, and
- control the possession and use of firearms.
Our te reo Māori name – Te Tari Pūreke – reflects our practical purpose and function, to protect firearms users and all communities. It was gifted to New Zealand Police by Waikato-Tainui as we were being established.
The gifting was coordinated by a member of the Commissioner’s Māori Focus Forum and representative for the King’s office, Rahui Papa.
Pūreke is a traditional raincape made from harakeke (flax leaves). Unlike the possible more well-known cloaks like korowai, which is ornate and made of feathers, pūreke were more functional and a form of protection against the rain and elements.
Tari is an office or department.
Pū is a weapon and is common for firearms.
Reke is the butt of a weapon but can also mean inquiry or investigation.
Te Tari Pūreke is an office of enquiries into firearms.
Te Tari Pūreke exists to support, shelter and protect our communities from unsafe use and possession of firearms so we can be the safest in the world.
Our system
New Zealand's firearms regulatory system is safeguarded by the Commissioner of Police. The arms regulatory environment is complex, sitting between the criminal environment and long-term legislative interventions.
Te Tari Pūreke has a leadership role ensuring the system operates in a coordinated and efficient manner. We ensure rules and regulations are fit for purpose and implemented in a way that enables people to use legitimate firearms safely.
We take a system-wide view to be most effective, and our interventions and priorities must align with those of the system.
We’re responsible for monitoring, reviewing and reporting on existing regulatory systems as well as supporting changes to those systems, ensuring good regulatory practice. Our role as an effective regulator is dependent on an integrated regulatory system, built with high trust and sustainable relationships across communities and regulated parties. Our relationships with our advisory forums provide connection with communities across the country.
We’re committed to purposefully engaging with iwi and Māori organisations about how any changes we make may impact Māori communities.
We’re working directly with key government agencies and NGOs to ensure the system is fit for purpose and to identify opportunities to improve the regulatory framework and settings. We constantly ask if the regulatory settings are right and work with others to enable us to respond to future changes in the firearms system, to keep all our communities safe while enabling the safe use and control of firearms for sport, business, recreation and food gathering.
Our approach
Te Tari Pūreke has a whole-of-system approach which:
- recognises the requirement for a long-term view of regulations
- takes a proactive stance in addressing the challenges and opportunities
- works collaboratively with key stakeholders within and around the system
- develops and monitors the system.
Our approach is grounded in te ao Māori and underpinned by good regulatory practice. To maintain the trust and confidence, we invest in keeping people and our communities safe through appropriate interventions that manage risk while enabling the safe use of firearms.
We enable and promote safety and compliance in all activities related to firearms. And our decisions and actions for delivering today and shaping our future are intelligence led.
We are committed to excellent service.
Our stakeholders and stakeholders have high expectations of us. We engage, educate, encourage and enforce when necessary.
Moving to a risk-based approach
Te Tari Pūreke is strengthening the firearms licencing process by introducing a Targeted Renewal Approach, which uses data and insight from within the firearms system to focus licencing effort at the greatest risks.
The Targeted Renewal Approach is a triage model that enables us to put the greatest effort against the biggest risks when considering firearms licence renewal applications from existing licence holders.
We will be using our information and intelligence systems to support this intelligence-led triaging of licence applications. We will then target resources in the renewal process proportionate to the identified risk profile.
This was a Recommendation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain. This is about having a smarter system.
We will be identifying and prioritising high complexity licence renewal applications and better matching resources to process an application to the identified risk level.
One of the second order effects of the Targeted Renewal Approach will be an improved throughput of applications overall. So, Te Tari Pūreke will be improving our ability to meet the increasing application demand, whilst still meeting our safety, trust and confidence objectives.
The Targeted Renewal Approach brings New Zealand more into alignment with how firearms licence renewal applications are done in countries we often compare ourselves, like Australia and Canada.
