New Zealand further tightened its firearms laws on Thursday in the wake of the last year's Christchurch mosques massacre, when a lone gunman murdered 51 Muslim worshippers.

Parliament passed legislation to establish a firearms registry to track every gun in the country and ensure only a "fit and proper person" can hold a firearms license.

This is New Zealand's second set of gun reforms after a suspected white supremacist last year murdered his victims with semi-automatic weapons in the country's worst peace-time mass shooting.

The most significant change is the new firearms registry, which license holders will be required to update as they buy or sell guns.

Other changes include prohibiting high-risk firearms like short semi-automatic rifles, tighter rules for gun dealers, and reduced the length of the firearms license from 10 to 5 years for first-time license holders and those who had their license revoked or allowed it to expire.

"The new law is designed to stop firearms falling into the wrong hands. It spells out for the first time that owning a firearm is a privilege, limited to responsible licensed owners," Minister of Police Stuart Nash said in a statement.

The legislation was an important step in making New Zealand a safer place, Nash said. "But it does not define us, what defines us is the actions we took to stop such a terror attack happening again."

He also said the registry would finally provide police with data on how many firearms were in legal circulation, while the fit and proper person test would ensure gun owners were responsible enough to own a firearm. 

Brenton Tarrant, an Australian national who has pleaded guilty over what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called an act of terrorism, will be sentenced later this year.

The tougher gun laws will take effect next week following the passage of a bill through Parliament on Thursday.

The government had near-unanimous support in parliament last year when it passed a law banning military-style semi-automatic firearms within weeks after the March 2019 attack.

The second round of changes passed on Thursday faced some resistance, with gun lobbyists and opposition leaders questioning the need for a gun registry.

New Zealand's efforts on gun control have gained global praise, especially in the United States, where lawmakers in favor of gun control and activists have struggled to address gun violence.

(With input from AFP, Reuters)