As a "genuine" passport-holding Kiwi....
I think perhaps 280PLUS' correspondent hasn't had direct experience with the NZ firearms licencing system.
My ten-year "A" (rifles, shotguns and airguns) N.Z. Firearms Licence, while ridiculously complicated to obtain by U.S. standards, isn't as tough to get as any of the Australian firearms licences I've held.
I hold it on the basis of hunting and target-shooting, as do the majority of N.Z. shooters.
The basic firearms licence costs NZ$135 for ten years, and involved having two references testify to my good character and safety with firearms as well as a private police interview with my wife and her mother
.
Unlike here in Oz, I am not required to register any rifles or shotguns (unless I hold an "E" endorsment for Military Style Semi-Autos or MSSA's), nor am I required to "justify" the possession of any specific rifle shotgun or airgun.
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".....not ALL the Maori are bad but like any society there are a few. They are unchecked in NZ as they are the indigenous people so, per Gov't policy, everybody else is pretty much a squatter and have no rights in regards to the actions of the Maori. At least, that's my take on it from what I've been told about the situation."
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The Labour Government of Helen Clark has advocated some really stupid and devisive legislation which has resulted in quite a lot of ill-will amongst non-Maori and Maori alike.
Proposals such as awarding Maori interests broadcasting rights - on the basis that it was originally 'their' air the signals travel through.
More recently, legislation was proposed to return all riverbanks, foreshores and lakeshore to exclusive Maori control...despite their being held as "Crown Reserve" (public lands) since the days of Queen Victoria. Yes - the same Queen the Maori's "Treaty of Waitangi" was signed with back in 1840. Public reaction to this legislation was not favourable (especially amongst fishers, hikers and hunters) and it was defeated. It was by no means supported by a majority of Maoris.
I guess, as 280PLUS noted, I'm trying to caution against stereotyping the Maori by associating the whole lot with a few ranting "activists" and their radical pakeha advocates.
Certainly Maori are disproportionately represented in NZ crime statistics, as are south pacific islanders in general.
A substantial number of Maori hold NZ firearms licences, as the tradition of subsistence hunting is strong among the rural Maori.
