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New Zealand attacks inquiry leaves Muslims bewildered and frustrated
Inquiry concludes mosque shootings could not have been prevented, but community in mourning still has questions it wants answered
Jacinda Ardern (R) walks with Gamal Fouda (L), imam of Al Noor mosque, in September as she prepares to unveil plaque in memory of those killed in 2019 shootings (AFP) By Published date: 11 December 2020 18:51 UTC | Last update: 4 months ago
Ever since a far-right extremist entered two mosques in New Zealand and opened fire on innocent worshippers, the country has grappled with the question of whether the attack could have been prevented.
On 15 March 2019, a gunman killed 51 people at the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch.
Unfortunately that was far from the case. The Royal Commission’s report depicts the counter-terrorism effort across government agencies SIS, Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), Police as lacking clear leadership and, despite the layers of bureaucracy and reports, ill-equipped and under-resourced to gather intelligence and identify new threats. The picture presented of the agencies as they operated before the terrorist attack in Christchurch is one of blinkered organisations, focused almost entirely on the threat of Islamic extremism, and acting without much co-ordination or urgency to address non-Islamic terrorism threats, even when they some were highlighted. It appears also that there was little input from politicians and almost no effort to make the public aware of how they could contribute to mitigating the risk of domestic terrorism.
NOTE from Selwyn Manning: In correspondence after this live episode, government sector law specialist, Graeme Edgeler, wrote:
It’s a shame I missed the live-stream. I could have pointed out in real-time that Paul was inaccurate in claiming that the Royal Commission lacked the power to compel testimony. This is a power literally every government inquiry has in New Zealand. I think it may have previously been the case that the terms of reference of individual inquiries used to have to specify this power, but whether on not that is the case, since the Inquiries Act 2013 entered into force, this has not been true. It is a power all government inquiries have under section 23 of the Inquiries Act.
Tense wait for University of Otago graduands
10 Dec, 2020 06:38 PM
4 minutes to read
Students and their family and friends outside the Dental School building. Photo / Christine O Connor
Otago Daily Times
Hundreds of Dunedin university graduands and their families continue to wait on tenterhooks for a decision on tomorrow s graduation ceremonies.
After it emerged yesterday that a security threat sent to the University of Otago earlier this week warned of a shooting, vice-chancellor Prof Harlene Hayne said the university continued to work closely with police and remained hopeful the two ceremonies would go ahead as planned.
The university would advise the more than 700 graduands affected by early this afternoon, Prof Hayne said.