New Zealand has launched a gun buy-back scheme in the wake of the deadly Christchurch mosque shootings.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Minister of Police Stuart Nash said in a joint emailed statement that NZ$208 million (£108m, $136m), had been set aside to compensate owners of the banned semi-automatic firearms up to 95 per cent of the original cost.
The ban was agreed by parliament in April, weeks after the shootings.
In March, a gunman killed 51 people at a mosque and Islamic centre during Friday prayers.
The scheme, which only applies to licensed guns, will last six months meaning people will have until 20 December to hand in their weapons. “The buy-back has one objective – to remove the most dangerous weapons from circulation,” Minister of Police Stuart Nash said.
