The Government announced in last week's Budget it will establish a new gun register but National wants police to have more powers to search gang pads for illegal weapons without a warrant instead.
About 80 percent of guns seized from gangs are second-hand and New Zealand Police Association president Chris Cahill said the spate of gang shootings is partly because there hasn't been a gun register for 30 years, until now.
"That's allowed a large number of firearms to travel around the country and get into the hand of criminals that police have no ability to trace."
National and ACT disagree that a gun register is the answer. Instead National Party leader Christopher Luxon wants to give police more search powers.
"Make sure we have firearm prohibition orders with warrantless search powers, so police can go after those illegal gangs. [The] second thing I'd like to see is a dedicated gang unit."
ACT's justice spokesperson Nicole McKee is singing from the same song sheet.
"We'd give police the powers to go back into gang pads and actually take the firearms away from those members. That's not happening right now - police haven't been given the tools."
Police Minister Poto Williams said the key tool to getting guns out of gangs is the Government's firearms register.
"We will have much better controls on the sale, the movement and knowing who has what and how many. We currently do not know that information," she said.
A $600 million package for tackling crime was in Budget 2022. It includes boosting police numbers, creating a new firearms unit within police and targeting gangs with 'Operation Cobalt' - starting next month in Auckland.
"Police will, because of the funding received, be a much more visible presence dealing with gangs," Williams said.
When it comes to arming those police, Cahill said officers were carrying weapons last night - but that order was lifted by this morning.
"What risk assessment caused it to be lifted when all these offenders are still outstanding - clearly there is a significant issue of [the] threat of firearms."
