- 'It's time for change'
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the March 15, 2019 shootings publicly released its report yesterday, which included 44 recommendations.
Otago Muslim Association chairman Mohammed Rizwan said the fact the shooter was able to get a firearms licence was a source of anger within the community, and they felt let down.
There was also acknowledgement in the report that intelligence agencies were more focused on Islamic extremism, but noted leads relating to possible right-wing extremist terrorism were followed up.
In 2016, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service identified that establishing a baseline picture of other emerging terrorism threats was a goal, but one it would pursue only when it had the capacity to do so.
That eventually began in May 2018, with one of the projects focused on developing an understanding of right-wing extremism in New Zealand. Work on that was not complete when the terrorist attack occurred.
In the aftermath of the attack, there was anger and frustration within the Muslim community that the focus had been on them, Dr Rizwan said.
However, he was happy that had been acknowledged and would be addressed.
He was also pleased hate speech laws could be toughened up.
"It’s something to look forward to; it’s a start."
It would take people a few days to fully digest the contents of the report, he said.
"There will be some sense of relief that this report has been publicly released and people will be able to read it.
"It’s looking positive."
