Your noon Briefing: Tarrant ‘may use trial to promote views’

Your 2-minute digest of the day’s top stories and a long read for lunchtime.

Hello readers. Alleged Christchurch gunman Brenton Tarrant wants to represent himself in court, and Fraser Anning defends his actions.

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND - MARCH 17: Flowers and tributes are hung on the fence of the Botanic Gardens on March 17, 2019 in Christchurch, New Zealand. 50 people are confirmed dead, with 36 injured still in hospital following shooting attacks on two mosques in Christchurch on Friday, 15 March. 41 of the victims were killed at Al Noor mosque on Deans Avenue and seven died at Linwood mosque. Another victim died later in Christchurch hospital. A 28-year-old Australian-born man, Brenton Tarrant, appeared in Christchurch District Court on Saturday charged with murder. The attack is the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's history. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Tarrant sacks lawyer

Alleged Christchurch gunman Brenton Tarrant has sacked his lawyer and plans to defend himself, raising concerns that he will use his trial to promote his beliefs. Police, meantime, have raided his mother’s and sister’s NSW homes, while Marise Payne says Canberra will work constructively with NZ if it tries to deport Tarrant. Keep up with the latest on our live blog.

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Senator Fraser Anning speaks during a press conference in Brisbane, Monday, March 18, 2019. The Senator has been widely criticised for posting an anti-muslim statement in regards to the New Zealand mosque attacks. (AAP Image/Dan Peled) NO ARCHIVING

‘If attacked, you defend yourself’

Fraser Anning says the more than one million signatories on a petition to have him thrown out of Parliament were “entitled to their opinion” and he said he did not regret retaliating against a 17-year-old who egged him.

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Brisbane men who travelled to New Zealand to help wash the bodies of massacre victims before they are buried.

First burials

Three Brisbane men have flown to Christchurch to prepare the bodies of victims according to strict Islamic funeral rites to spare relatives of the dead.

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05/03/2019: Julian Burnside, with Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale, announces himself as the new Greens candidate for Kooyong to run against Josh Frydenberg. Stuart McEvoy/The Australian.

Bollinger Bolsheviks

Rich socialists are more equal than others. Julian Burnside and the boys at the Savage Club have known this for years, writes Jennifer Oriel.

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CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND - MARCH 17: A woman holds her hat to her face as she pauses next to flowers laid near Al Noor mosque on March 17, 2019 in Christchurch, New Zealand. 50 people are confirmed dead, with 36 injured still in hospital following shooting attacks on two mosques in Christchurch on Friday, 15 March. 41 of the victims were killed at Al Noor mosque on Deans Avenue and seven died at Linwood mosque. Another victim died later in Christchurch hospital. A 28-year-old Australian-born man, Brenton Tarrant, appeared in Christchurch District Court on Saturday charged with murder. The attack is the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's history. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

The long read: Shared hatred of fanatics

Jihadis and white supremacists are mirror images of violent bigotry, writes Paul Monk