EVAN MINTON AGAINST THE NZ HERALD

The NZ Herald published an article on August 11, 2024, headlined Police push to ban 3D-printed gun blueprints amid rise in manufacturing by organised crime.

The story reported that police want it made illegal to download or possess blueprints or instructions to make 3D-printed firearms amid a ramping up in the manufacture of these weapons by organised crime groups. They also want New Zealand to follow most of Australia which has banned certain blank-firing guns and some toy air-powered “gel blaster” guns which can be converted to lethal weapons. A video ran with the story to illustrate the types of weapons and firearm parts police and Customs were concerned about.

Evan Minton complained that the article was biased and the video was factually incorrect. A machine gun kit shown in the video was just an O-ring seal kit for an airgun. To misrepresent airgun parts as part of a machine gun was inflammatory and not material fact, he said.

Mr Minton said the claim that gel blasters, airsoft and blank firing guns were easily converted into firearms that could fire real ammunition was not backed by any facts. The NZ Herald had also not investigated why the police backed changes in the law in 2019 that made it easier for blank firearms to be sold in New Zealand without needing theatrical licences. This showed the article was not fair and balanced, he said.

The NZ Herald responded that the story was based on a New Zealand Customs intelligence report and involved input from Customs Intelligence Manager Bruce Berry and Police Organised Crime Group Director, Detective Superintendent Greg Williams, two of the most experienced law enforcement officials in New Zealand.

Referring to the O-ring sealing kit, this was identified as a machine pistol cleaning kit which had been seized at the border.

The NZ Herald added there was ample evidence from all over the world of air soft/pellet guns and blank firing guns being converted into functioning firearms. Gel blasters were banned in most of Australia as police were concerned about how similar they were to real firearms and said replicas could be converted.

“It would be remiss of the Herald not to report the views of law enforcement officers who are increasingly finding converted firearms.”

The Media Council notes Mr Minton disagreed with the comments made in the story and disputed what the Police and Customs experts said. Most of the comments made in the story were the quoted views of experts. Mr Minton is entitled to his own views, but his arguments did not establish that the expert opinions were wrong. The Council did not believe there were any factual errors of significance. Mr Minton said that one firearm item was misidentified in the video, but accepting this to be so, the Council did not believe that this was significant in terms of the overall thrust of the story. It was a minor detail. The article did not breach either Principle (1) Accuracy, Fairness and Balance or Principle (4) Comment and Fact.  

There were no grounds to proceed.

*This ruling was amended on the 19^th September 2024 to clarify matters related to claims of factual inaccuracy.