Christchurch: A New Zealand MP and former police minister has told the National Rifle Association to "bugger off" out of the nation's affairs as it prepares to introduce sweeping gun law reforms.

National Party MP Judith Collins said that when she sought to introduce gun law reforms during her two stints as police minister, she was inundated by lobbying from a small, vocal and passionate group of lobbyists from New Zealand’s gun industry.

A policeman stands guard at the Al Noor Mosque ahead of a national call to prayer. Credit:Jason South

She told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that these lobbyists typically directed massive amounts of material that appeared to be sourced directly from the US National Rifle Association to her office and those of other MPs.

"They talked about how we were trying to take away their Second Amendment rights to own guns. We don’t have a right to bear arms. To own a gun in New Zealand is absolutely a privilege and not a right," she said.