Handed in her semi-automatic: Hawke's Bay woman says she's happy to have given up gun

Brena Smith says she used to own a .22 calibre semi-automatic which she used for pest control, mainly shooting rabbits and possums. Photo / File

A Hawke's Bay woman who gave up her gun more than 10 years ago says she is happy with the decision in light of Friday's terror attack in Christchurch.

Brena Smith says she used to own a .22 calibre semi-automatic which she used for pest control, mainly shooting rabbits and possums, but around 10 years ago she decided she didn't like killing things anymore.

She traded a gun for a camera and has since become a well-known Hawke's Bay photographer.

She said it would be fabulous if more people decided to give up their guns in wake of Friday's events.

Earlier media reports have stated people were "panic-buying" guns, ahead of a possible ban on semi-automatics by the government.

Smith said any people reacting by buying a gun should just "take a breath."

She suggested gun shops were possibly just trying to clear their stock ahead of a possible ban.

She said there was no benefit to owning military style, semi-automatics, as the only thing they are useful for was shooting people.

"I think it's just time for a big change in New Zealand."

She also felt as a country, New Zealand needed to take responsibility for what happened, but said as a country we wanted to get better as well.

Monday's Cabinet meeting focused entirely on the attacks in Christchurch.

Emeritus Professor, Sydney School of Public Health, Simon Chapman, says the gun reforms post the 1996 mass-shooting have prevented an estimated 16 mass shootings in Australia, based on the rate of mass shootings leading up to the 1996 event.

Senior Lecturer at the University of Canterbury, Jarrod Gilbert, said the easiest way to reduce the availability of semi-automatic weapons was to make them illegal.

He said knee-jerk political reactions should not be made following terrible events, but in this case recommendations had been around for a long time.

"For many changes, then, the issue isn't one of current political opportunism, but past political inertia."