New Zealand's biggest online classifieds site bans sale of semi-automatic guns

In the aftermath of the Christchurch terrorist attack, New Zealand is looking to step up on gun control.

It's led to the country's biggest online marketplace, Trade Me, stopping the sale of semi-automatic firearms until it receives further instruction from the government.

"We have listened to public sentiment following Friday's terrorist attack in Christchurch and decided to remove all semi-automatic firearms sales and parts associated with those weapons today," Trade Me's statement reads.

The company said it would aim to remove listings for semi-automatic firearms by the end of Monday.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pledged that the country's gun laws "will change" following the tragedy, and said on Monday she would start discussing the issue within the government.

"Rightly ... people are asking the question 'why is it that someone with a firearms licence in New Zealand can obtain a military-style semi-automatic weapon?'" Ardern told Radio NZ.

The New Zealand Police Association has backed the action on the country's gun laws.

"Jacinda Ardern has said emphatically that New Zealand’s gun laws will change and that now is the time for that change," Police Association president Chris Cahill said in a statement online.

"I absolutely agree with her and I believe many New Zealanders will be aghast that in our country someone can amass a cache of weapons like that discovered in this Christchurch tragedy."

Unlike neighbouring Australia, whose famously strong gun policy resulted in a ban on semi-automatic firearms, New Zealand allows private possession, as long as the owner is approved by police and licensed.

As per Gunpolicy.org, New Zealand has double the guns per person than Australia, and the number of privately-owned guns is estimated to be at 1.5 million.

There have also been calls for a gun register, which isn't required in New Zealand for most firearms, according to the BBC.