You can take terrorist Brenton Tarrant back, says New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters

Winston Peters wants mass murderer Brenton Tarrant immediately sent back to Australia to serve his jail term.

Brenton Tarrant remained stony-faced as he was told by judge Cameron Mander that he would die in jail. Picture: Getty Images

Mass murderer Brenton Tarrant should be immediately sent back to Australia to serve his lifelong jail term so New Zealand taxpayers aren’t burdened with the ­“astronomical” cost of his imprisonment, the New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister says.

Winston Peters issued the ­demand just hours after Tarrant received the harshest prison sentence in New Zealand’s history — life, without the possibility of parole — for the murder of 51 people, the attempted murder of 40 others, and engaging in an act of terrorism in Christchurch last year.

Tarrant, who was raised in NSW and is an Australian citizen, has been in custody in New Zealand since his murderous shooting rampage through the Al Noor and Linwood mosques during Friday prayers on March 15, last year.

Winston Peters. Picture: Getty Images

The 29-year-old was sentenced in the Christchurch High Court on Thursday, remaining stony-faced as he was told by judge Cameron Mander that he would die in jail.

While political leaders across the Tasman universally welcomed Tarrant’s punishment, Mr Peters was quick to reiterate his earlier calls for the white ­supremacist to be deported from New Zealand straight after his sentencing.

“New Zealand First also ­believes this terrorist should be returned to the country that raised him,” Mr Peters said. “The Islamic community and all of New Zealand has already suffered enough without having to pay astronomical prison costs to keep him safe in our prison system.”

The cost of housing Tarrant in a New Zealand jail for the rest of his life will cost tens of millions of dollars, if not hundreds of millions. It was reported earlier this month that $NZ3.59m ($3.33m) had been approved just for the first two years of Tarrant’s stay at Auckland’s Paremoremo Prison.

While New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has previously said she wouldn’t rule out seeking the transfer of Tarrant to Australia, she has been reluctant to publicly discuss the matter while the terrorist was still before the courts.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressed relief at the sentence handed down to Tarrant, and suggested there were no ­negotiations under way to repatriate him to Australia.

“It’s normal practice that criminals convicted of these ­offences serve their sentences in that jurisdiction, and that’s my understanding of what the ­arrangements are and no request has been made to Australia for that to be any different,” Mr Morrison said.

Al Noor Mosque shooting survivors Mustafa Boztas, left, Wasseim Alsati and Temel Atacocugu celebrate as they leave Christchurch High Court on Thursday. Picture: Getty Images

The sentencing of Tarrant brought one of New Zealand’s darkest episodes to a close. The courtroom fell eerily silent as Tarrant was shepherded to the underground cells after he was sentenced.

While survivors and family members of victims had spent the past four days unleashing their pain, loss, torment and anger ­toward the killer in open court, nothing was heard from the public gallery as he retreated from the public’s view for the final time.

Tarrant offered no words throughout the four-day hearing, other than to politely decline the judge’s offer of making a statement to the court.

Handing down the sentence from the bench, Justice Mander said Tarrant’s “warped” ideology and “base hatred” drove him to commit New Zealand’s worst terror attack.

“It was brutal and beyond ­callous. Your actions were inhuman,” the judge said.

“Your crimes are so wicked, that even if you are detained until you die it will not exhaust the ­requirements of punishment and denunciation.”

Justice Mander read out the names of those murdered and ­recounted in horrific detail how Tarrant executed some worshippers as they lay wounded and pleaded for mercy from the gunman.

“The people who you killed and wounded were not the only victims,” he said. “All those in the vicinity … and the Muslim community have suffered deeply.

“The mosques were places of sanctuary — this country too … was also seen as a place of refuge and safety.”

Crown prosecutor Mark ­Zarifeh said the attacks were “extensively planned and premeditated.”

“The offender chose weapons and planned events in such a way so as to inflict maximum casualty … he shot at numerous victims from behind who were unaware of his approach and unable to ­escape, including what can only be ­described as the execution of a three-year-old child,” Mr Zarifeh said.

“The offending was motivated by an entrenched racist and xenophobic ideology … in my submission, the offender is clearly New Zealand’s worst murderer.”  The court was told Tarrant had made a belated expression of ­remorse during a pre-sentence ­interview with prison authorities in April, when the killer described  his actions as “unnecessary, ­abhorrent and irrational”. But Justice Mander labelled Tarrant’s gesture as “uncorroborated, self-serving and a relatively recent phenomenon”.

And while there was silence in the courtroom at the announcement of Tarrant’s punishment, there was jubilation outside on the steps of the High Court, with crowds cheering and singing the national anthem, God Defend New Zealand.

Gamal Fouda, the imam of Al Noor Mosque, said the sentence was what the Muslim community had hoped for.

“But no punishment is going to bring our loved ones back and our sadness will continue for the rest of our lives,” he said.