Wellington, Jan 22 (TIWN) New Zealand has begun a three-month firearms buy-back as part of the government's ambitious firearms reform program, Police Minister Poto Williams said on Friday.

The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited parts and magazines, Williams said in a statement.

"We are resolute in ensuring our firearms reform program is stopping firearms falling into the wrong hands," Williams said.

This next amnesty and buy-back is about removing further firearms and arms items that were prohibited and restricted through the Arms Legislation Act 2020 which was passed in June 2020.

The government has allocated 15.5 million NZ dollars (11.13 million U.S. dollars) for compensation and administrative costs, she said, noting that this buy-back is on a much smaller scale than 2019.