Category Archives: Christchurch shooting

Jacinda Ardern: ‘Very little of what I have done has been deliberate. It’s intuitive’

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In the wake of New Zealand’s worst terror attack, the prime minister talks frankly about the aftermath, global scrutiny and how a nation heals

“I’ll show you something,” says Jacinda Ardern. We are sitting on sofas in her office on the ninth floor of the Beehive, the circular building that houses the New Zealand government in Wellington. It is just 10 days since a terrorist attack in Christchurch took the lives of 50 people at prayer. Outside, the flags are at half-mast. Two police officers stand by the glass doors, cradling semi-automatic weapons. Up on the ninth floor, the early morning sun scythes in through panoramic windows, the harbour just visible in the distance. In the reception area, a staffer’s preschooler son buzzes back and forth on a bike.

I have been asking Ardern about her immediate response to the attack, which from the outset put a clear emphasis on inclusivity and solidarity. Succinctly, steelily, the prime minister framed what had happened in her own terms. It felt very deliberate: was it?

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Australian agencies had ‘no reason to restrict travel’ of Christchurch accused, MPs told

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Senior home affairs official says no major changes planned to ‘scientifically calibrated’ focus on terrorism after attack

Australian security agencies had no information to suggest the man accused of the Christchurch mosque massacre should be placed on a watchlist or prevented from leaving the country, a Senate committee has heard.

However, there were no major changes being made to Australia’s “scientifically calibrated” focus on different types of terrorism, the home affairs department secretary, Michael Pezzullo, said.

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Australia passes social media law penalising platforms for violent content

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Labor supports legislation in response to Christchurch shooting that threatens jail for executives, despite media companies’ concerns

The Australian parliament has passed legislation to crack down on violent videos on social media, despite furious reaction from the tech industry, media companies and legal experts.

The Labor opposition combined with the ruling Liberal-National Coalition to pass the law on Thursday, despite warning it won’t allow prosecution of social media executives as promised by the government. Tech giants expressed the opposite concern that it may criminalise anyone in their companies for a failure to remove violent material.

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Australia federal budget 2019: reaction to Josh Frydenberg’s first budget – as it happened

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Australia’s treasurer says the budget is ‘back in the black’. This blog is now closed

And that is where we are going to end tonight, before we all turn into pumpkins.

But don’t worry, we’ll be back early tomorrow morning for all the fallout. Plus, you know, parliament.

Mike Bowers has been out and about:

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German police arrest 11 people suspected of plotting major attacks

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Prosecutors said suspects arrested for allegedly plotting ‘state-endangering crime’

German police arrested 11 people in pre-dawn raids on Saturday on suspicion they were planning major attacks with stockpiled weapons and explosives, a prosecution spokesman said.

One of the 11 was confirmed as a Tajikistan national, but officials disclosed few other details about the suspects, who were detained in the early hours in western and southern parts of the country.

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Far-right terrorism threat is growing, say MI5 and police chiefs

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Andrew Parker and Cressida Dick say numerous plots have been foiled in recent years

Far-right terrorism has been identified as a key threat to the safety and prosperity of the country, according to the director general of MI5, Andrew Parker, and Cressida Dick, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police.

Writing in the Times, the pair warned that while Islamist terrorism remains the largest by scale, they are also “concerned about the growing threat from other forms of violent extremism … covering a spectrum of hate-driven ideologies, including the extreme right and left.”

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Christchurch memorial: standing ovation for Ardern at New Zealand service

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Jacinda Ardern and Scott Morrison among estimated 20,000 attending national remembrance service near site of attacks

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern was greeted with a standing ovation as she took the stage to address a crowd of thousands gathered at Hagley Park for a nationwide remembrance service in honour of 50 people killed in the country’s worst terrorist attack.

Related: With respect: how Jacinda Ardern showed the world what a leader should be

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Moderate media, a compassionate leader: how New Zealand reacted to a tragedy | Calla Wahlquist

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Is New Zealand’s civilised response to the Christchurch massacre just down to good stewardship, or is there something else going on?

To the rest of the world, New Zealand’s reaction to the Christchurch massacre has been extraordinary. The killing of 50 people at Friday prayers in two mosques by a white, right-wing Australian has united, rather than divided, this small country and galvanised a parliament that has been prevaricating on gun reform for 30 years into action.

Much of that response has been down to the leadership of Jacinda Ardern. But even there, the public reception has been remarkable.

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Penny Wong warns racism and hate speech in parliament threaten democracy

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Labor senator says those who ‘see political or commercial advantage in heightening cynicism’ are diminishing civic life

Penny Wong will say that “racism is a threat to our democracy” in a speech taking aim at those who see “political or commercial advantage” in increased cynicism towards public institutions.

The Labor senator is set to warn that hate speech and extremist views in parliament and a “lack of unity in response to these” have harmed democracy, pointing the finger in part at the Coalition for its tardy response to condemn One Nation in the 45th parliament.

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Austrian authorities raid far-right group over alleged links to Christchurch shooter

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Home of far-right ‘Identitarian’ raided after he received a large donation from a person sharing the same surname as Christchurch suspect

Austria’s chancellor called Tuesday for authorities to “ruthlessly” investigate possible ties between an Austrian nationalist group and the alleged Christchurch mosque gunman, after it emerged that a prominent far-right activist had received a donation in the suspected shooter’s name.

Martin Sellner, head of the Identitarian Movement of Austria, said on social media that police searched his apartment Monday and seized electronic devices after he received a “disproportionately high donation” from a person named Tarrant the same surname as the suspected Christchurch shooter.

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New Zealand shooting: Jacinda Ardern announces royal commission into attack

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Prime minister says the country’s highest form of investigation is appropriate for ‘matters of the gravest public importance’

New Zealand’s prime minister has announced a top-level inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the massacre of 50 people in two Christchurch mosques.

Jacinda Ardern said the country’s highest form of investigation, a royal commission of inquiry, was appropriate for “matters of the gravest public importance”.

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Censor bans ‘manifesto’ of Christchurch mosque shooter

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David Shanks says document ‘deliberately constructed to inspire murder and terrorism’, as more than 1,000 New Zealanders register to hand in guns

New Zealand’s chief censor has banned a document shared by the man allegedly responsible for killing 50 people in two Christchurch mosques.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people so far have opted to hand in their weapons following a ban on assault rifles and military-style semi-automatics (MSSAs).

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Christchurch attack: Al Noor mosque handed back to Muslim community

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Leaders and worshippers escorted through cordon by police as life begins to return to normal

Muslim community leaders and worshippers have been escorted back to one of two mosques targeted in the New Zealand terror attack.

Two groups were taken through the cordon to Masjid Al Noor on Saturday morning, accompanied by a delegation of dignitaries. They received a briefing from officers on the street before being led to the front door where the shooting rampage that killed 50 began.

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New Zealand attack: Al Noor mosque imam tells world leaders to fight hate speech

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Imam Gamal Fouda tells thousands that events leading to last week’s massacre ‘did not come overnight’

An imam who survived the terror attack at Al Noor mosque has declared New Zealand “unbreakable” in a sermon attended by thousands in Christchurch on Friday and called on world leaders eliminate hate speech, saying the massacre “did not come overnight”.

Speaking from a temporary stage set up in Hagley Park opposite the mosque, which is still surrounded by police tape a week after the attack, Imam Gamal Fouda said that in attempting to spread hate, the gunman who killed 50 people and injured 42 had instead sparked love and compassion.

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New Zealand asks: how was the threat from the far right missed?

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Muslim associations have expressed despair that no one in government heeded their warnings about a rise in racism and violence

As the alleged killer sits in an isolated, maximum security jail cell on the outskirts of Christchurch, many people in New Zealand are wondering how an alt-right extremist who allegedly amassed an arsenal of military grade weapons went undetected for so long.

Holed up in a wooden bungalow in the seaside town of Dunedin, the alleged shooter was an active member of the local gun club and pumped weights at a South Dunedin gym. He was quiet, but not reclusive, and appears to have made no effort to hide his obsession with military grade weaponry.

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Christchurch mosque attacks: burials begin as Ardern urges students to reject hate

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New Zealand prime minister returns to city where 50 were killed as foreign minister heads to Turkey

Burials for the 50 people killed the New Zealand terrorist attack have begun in Christchurch as the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, returned to the city to pay her respects and comfort those affected by the killings.

On Wednesday, father and son Khaled and Hamza Mustafa, who arrived in New Zealand as refugees from Syria, were the first victims to be buried. The prime minister told reporters: “I cannot tell you how gutting it is to know that a family came here for safety and for refuge, and they should have been safe here.”

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Christchurch pupils perform haka for Jacinda Ardern – video

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New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has returned to Christchurch for her second visit since Friday's massacre in which 50 people were killed. First stop on her schedule was the Cashmere high school, to talk to staff and pupils about the attack, in which two students and a former student were killed. On arrival at the school, Ardern was greeted with a traditional haka ceremonial dance performed by students and teachers


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