Southland hunters who haven't already got their firearms licenses now will be shut out of the maimai this duck shooting season, Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds says.

"The duck shooting season begins in Southland this Saturday, May 1, but not everyone will be able to shoot, with increased paperwork and complicated government regulations meaning police are taking months to process firearms licenses. 

"It's really disappointing for hunters to be side-lined because of these administrative delays.

"One constituent who contacted me said he was told by the Invercargill firearms office it would take his son up to six months to get his license – effectively shutting him out of the maimai this season."

The duck shooting season in Southland runs for 10 weeks, to 11 July. 

"So anyone who hasn’t already got their firearms license sorted by now, will effectively miss out."

The 2020 season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I want hunters to do the right thing and adhere to the rules, but this system failure is disappointing and unacceptable."

Simmonds said renewal of current firearms licenses in Southland was also taking four to six months. 

She urged hunters to get in early to ensure that their licenses did not lapse, meaning they would no longer be able to store their guns on their property.

"Southland figures aren’t available, but across the country in December there was a backlog of 9700 firearms applications, and as of last week that number was still sitting around 9600," she says.

Last week, NZ Police Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming said police are processing applications at a rate of 300 per week. 

It has doubled its national workforce over the past nine months, is prioritising renewals and work-related applications, sending six-month reminders, and spreading the load across regions.

The delays have been caused by the impacts of Covid, the demand for licences. 

But the main cause has been NZ Police modernising its processes around the Arms Act, to ensure that only people who are fit and proper are able to access, possess, and use firearms.

This has meant new systems, forms and training for staff.

"We know people are frustrated by the delays in firearms licensing applications, and we acknowledge that the current situation is not acceptable," McSkimming says.

"We appreciate people's patience and want to assure applicants we are working on solutions to reduce the pipeline of applications."

McSkimming is reminding shooters that if they are accompanied by, and under the immediate supervision of, a current licence holder, "you are still able to shoot in the maimai".

The most helpful thing people can do is apply for their licence four months in advance of the expiry of their current licence, he says, and make sure their referees are available for checks.