Remembering a tragic day

Sunday’s scheduled commemoration in New Zealand marking the first anniversary of the Christchurch terrorist attack had to be cancelled, sadly, due to the coronavirus. In the end, New Zealanders emerged from their homes to mark the date anyway. Drawn out of respect and curiosity, as Paul Maley reported, people began arriving at Christchurch’s Al Noor Mosque from early morning. That was one of two mosques where Australian-born gunman Brenton Tarrant opened fire, killing 51 people on March 15 last year. Tarrant filmed the attack and live-streamed it on Facebook, before it was detected. Facebook removed about 1.5 million videos of the attack. On Sunday, some who came to pay their respects limped in on walking sticks or on crutches; it’s too early for their physical or psychological wounds to have healed. Many who came had never been in a mosque. Powerful lessons flowed from that terrible day that appalled the world, especially Australia, as realisation dawned that Tarrant was born and grew up here.

As New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, Tarrant’s depraved act “changed New Zealand forever”. It was a day New Zealanders will never forget. The small nation, known the world over as a peaceful and compassionate place, at ease with its diversity, was shaken profoundly. It was wounded by the attacks, but not broken. As Ms Ardern said as the shock began sinking in, the attacks “occurred in a place where people should have been expressing their religious freedom”.

Following John Howard’s lead after the Port Arthur massacre, tough new gun laws in New Zealand have seen 56,000 weapons handed in. Ms Ardern has also led an international drive known as the Christchurch Call to Action that has seen 48 governments and eight major social media companies join forces to fight terrorism and violent extremism online. A royal commission investigating events relating to the attacks, including the performance of security agencies, will report next month.

Australia marked Sunday’s anniversary, with Scott Morrison praising New Zealanders for responding “to hate with love’’. The Prime Minister reflected our national mood on Sunday when he said: “Australia stands in unity and solidarity with New Zealand … we stand side by side with our Kiwi brothers and sisters as we remember and honour the victims and their loved ones.” Both nations, Mr Morrison said, were committed to peace and freedom, and continued to reject those who spread division and hatred.

Labor frontbenchers Kristina Keneally and Andrew Giles captured the same spirit. “Our hearts broke for our New Zealand sisters and brothers who had their family, friends, loved ones and community leaders prematurely taken from them,’’ they recalled. The growth in right-wing extremism, they said, and the threat it posed, could not be ignored. Challenges lie ahead. Tarrant, facing trial on 51 murder charges, 40 attempted murder charges and one terrorism charge, wants to use his trial to champion his vile ideology. Sunday’s anniversary, while subdued due to COVID-19, touched the hearts of all decent people on both sides of the Tasman. We stand with those still trying to come to terms with the murder of 51 people in places of refuge and transcendence.