New Zealand: Ardern flags further gun control reforms after firearms charges peak

Prime minister says 2020 police statistics have only reinforced government's commitment to crackdown

An increase in charges over gun crime in New Zealand - despite sweeping reforms introduced after the Christchurch mosque attacks in 2019 - has shown the need for further restrictions, the government and campaigners agree.

The deaths of 51 people at al-Noor mosque and Linwood Islamic centre two years ago led to a sweeping ban on a range of semi-automatic rifles and large ammunition magazines and a gun buy-back scheme, which removed about 60,000 guns from circulation.