Letter of appointment redacted.pdf

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24 October 2025
s9(2)(a)
ACT
Dear s9(2)(a)
Appointment to the Minister’s Arms Advisory Group
I am pleased to appoint you as member of the Minister’s Arms Advisory Group (the Group) as
provided for by sections 88 to 91 of the Arms Act 1983 (the Act).
This appointment is for a three-year term commencing on 6 November 2025.
The Group’s purpose, as set out in its Terms of Reference, is to advise the responsible Minister
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on matters that contribute to the objectives of the Act, in particular the safe use and control of
firearms. The Group may provide advice on any matter relating to firearms in New Zealand,
including legislative proposals, policies for regulating New Zealand’s firearms regime, and the
promotion of firearms safety. For your guidance, the Group’s Terms of Reference  are
attached.
The Group comprises the Chair, Mr Don Hammond, and seven other members in addition to
yourself. Together, the members bring a balance of representation from the firearm and non-
firearm-owning community. I welcome members’ ongoing advice to the Associate Minister of
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Justice on all matters related to the safe use and control of firearms, including the rewrite of
the Act and the reform of the firearms regulatory system.
The fee payable to you is $395 per day of duties. In light of recent changes to the Cabinet
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Fees Framework, the Ministry of Justice is assessing implications for the Group and wil
provide advice to the Associate Minister of Justice in due course.
It is of critical importance that the Group upholds the highest standards of professional conduct
at all times, in order to preserve trust and confidence. I acknowledge that you and your fellow
members are actively engaged in the community and wish to emphasise the need to be
mindful of public perception when making statements in a personal capacity when they are
outside of the scope of your official Group roles. Should any matter arise, either in a personal
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or professional capacity, that has the potential to compromise trust and confidence in
individual members, or of the Group as a whole, I expect the Associate Minister of Justice to
be proactively informed.
The Group’s next monthly meeting is scheduled for 11 November 2025, and wil  be held in-
person in Wellington. I hope you wil  be able to at end, as it wil  provide a valuable opportunity
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Minister’s Arms Advisory Group
Terms of reference
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Purpose of the Group
The responsible Minister must establish an Arms Advisory Group (the Group) comprising a Chair and
up to 8 other members under section 88(1) of the Arms Act 1983.
The purpose of the Group is to advise the Minister on matters that contribute to achieving the
objectives of this Act, in particular the safe use and control of firearms. The Group may provide advice
on any matter relating to firearms in New Zealand, including legislative proposals, policies for
regulating New Zealand’s firearms regime, and the promotion of firearms safety.
Scope of the Group’s advice
The Group may provide advice on any and all matters relating to firearms in New Zealand.
Advice from the Group
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Advice from the Group wil  be provided as a col ective. If there are matters where common ground
cannot be found, all perspectives of the discussion will be provided with an explanation to the
Minister.
In addition, advice provided will also take into account the Treaty of Waitangi obligations.
Membership of the Group
Section 90(2) of the Act requires the Minister to have regard to people who possess knowledge and
experience across the areas listed as below:
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a.  New Zealand and international ﬁrearms regulatory systems
b.  public and individual health and safety, particularly as it relates to ﬁrearms
c.  ﬁrearms research
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d.  ﬁrearms safety and the use of ﬁrearms
e.  membership of any community organisation or group involved in ﬁrearms awareness,
safety, or law reform, and
f.  any other matters the Minister considers relevant.
Appointment
Appointment to the Group is for
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Following the initial period, terms will generally be 3 years unless the Minister deems otherwise.
These appointments to the Group are made on the basis that while Group members may be members
of interested organisations they do not serve on the Group as representatives of those organisations.
There is no guarantee of re-appointment. The Chair will continue in office despite the expiry of their
term until they are re-appointed, their successor is appointed, or they are informed they are not to be
re-appointed.
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Register of Interest
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As part of the Appointment and Honours Committee appointment process, the members of the Group
disclosed any interests that may relate to the Group.
Members who have a specific, real conflict of interest in relation to an issue or item will advise the
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Chair and recuse themselves from consideration of those issues or items.
If members develop new, relevant interest(s), whether real, potential or perceived, they wil  inform
the Chair through the Secretariat as soon as is reasonably practicable.
Meeting Ground Rules and Confidentiality
The overal  objective of the meetings is to achieve a free and frank flow of conversation.  The work of
the Group is confidential (including information presented to or provided to the Group), unless
otherwise agreed by the responsible Minister. Members of the Group will maintain this confidence
and will not disclose information about information received, their operations or discussions to any
person without prior agreement from the Minister (subject to any consultations with affected
agencies).  Normal practice will be for the Group, through the Chair, to refer any request for
information to the Minister’s Office.
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Members of the group are required to respect the confidentiality of any information shared with
them. Information received for the purposes of the Group (for example, to consider and discuss at a
meeting) wil  be securely stored and returned to the Secretariat, deleted, or securely destroyed once
it is no longer required for that purpose.  Where information requires greater security and is to be
subject to greater protections (for example, to be shown to the Group at a meeting and then returned
when the meeting ends), it will be marked accordingly.
By virtue of their membership of the Group, members agree to respect the confidentiality involved in
the Group’s work.
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Minutes
Minutes will be prepared by the Secretariat and in such a way that the member will not be identified.
Quorum
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The Chair plus five members, with a minimum of two from the non-firearms owning community
members and two members from the firearms owning community.
In the Chair’s absence, a replacement Chair may be selected from the Group for the purpose of that
meeting.
Engagement with Ministry
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The Group is independent and members contribute on this basis. The Ministry of Justice provides
Secretariat and Policy support to the Group, to assist the Group to ensure they can be effective. Justice
may also seek the advice of the Group.
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Engagement with the Minister
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Formal written communication will be provided through the Secretariat on the request of the
members. There will be times where it is appropriate for members to make contact with the Minister
directly.
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Official Information Act requests
Al  information held or produced by the Group, including that held or produced by government
agencies for the Group, is subject to the Official Information Act 1982. The Secretariat is responsible
for responding in a lawful manner to any Official Information Act requests the Group may receive. In
doing so they will coordinate with the Chair and / or Deputy Chair or all members.
Media protocols
Only the Chair or Deputy Chair shall make public and media statements on behalf of the Group. All
media requests received shall be referred to the Chair for their consideration of a response. This
requirement does not prevent members expressing personal views in public or the media at any time,
if these are not presented as the views of the Group.
Annual report
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The Group is required to provide the responsible Minister with an annual report at the end of each
financial year (s89(3) Arms Act 1983). The annual report will reflect the year July to June and will be
provided to the Minister as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year.
The annual report will be signed by the Chair and will be written with the support of the Firearms
Secretariat.
Time Commitments and Meetings
There will be at least 10 meetings per year. As a general principle, half of the meetings will be held in-
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person, where possible, and half will be held online. The Chair, supported by the Secretariat, is
responsible for setting meeting dates and agendas and the effective and efficient conduct of meetings.
Members may request the Chair to consider holding additional or other urgent meetings, with the
Chair having final decision making on any such request. The Minister will, where feasible, attend part
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of any meeting to receive comment and feedback directly or may directly speak to any initiative.
Fees
Fees and expenses will apply in accordance with the “Revised Fees Framework for members appointed
to bodies in which the Crown has an interest” [CO (22) 2].
https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2022-10/co-22-2-revised-fees-framework.pdf
There is an expectation that members will also have a quantity of reading and preparatory work for
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meetings and an additional fee for meeting preparation is appropriate.
Support for the Group
Resources and administrative support are provided by the Ministry of Justice (s89(4) Arms Act 1983,
specifies NZ Police but this has been assigned to the Ministry of Justice). The Chair and the Group wil
be supported by a Secretariat appointed by the Ministry of Justice but remain accountable to the
responsible Minister. The Secretariat will ensure Group members have the resources and information
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they need to be effective in their role. In coordination with the Chair, the Secretariat will develop  1982
necessary business processes and protocols to support the Group and its activities.
Use of external consultants
The Group can use external consultants within their budget. Requests for additional resource wil  be
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considered by the Ministry of Justice on a case-by-case basis.

Budget
The Chair will prepare an annual budget in conjunction with the appropriate manager within the
Ministry of Justice or any agency appointed by Government.

Workplan
The Group wil  develop its annual workplan and update this regularly as required. A key focus of this
plan is to prepare to the 2026 review relating to firearms legislation.

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