Federated Farmers is pleased with the number and geographical spread of collection events for semi-automatic firearms prohibited under the new legislation.

"Farmers were worried they’d have to travel many miles to turn in and be compensated for these firearms but it appears our concerns have been met," Federated Farmers firearms safety spokesperson Miles Anderson says.

On the NZ Police website, a long list of collection places and events has been loaded today, including in relatively small and remote locations such as Lawrence, Owaka, Ngatea, Murupara, Benneydale, Kaikohe and Oban, on Stewart Island.

"Only time will tell whether the four hours allocated for the hand-over process in each town, and available personnel, is sufficient given the inevitable debates over compensation amounts for various firearms.

"We hope it goes smoothly, and if the allocated resources for the buy-back process do prove insufficient, that the government reacts swiftly," Anderson says.

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