The Green Party welcome the concluding report for the Royal Commission into the terror attack on a Christchurch mosque on March 15 2019.

“First and foremost my thoughts and aroha are with the families and broader communities of those affected by the heinous attack on March 15 last year”, Green Party spokesperson on Human Rights Golriz Ghahraman said today.

“Muslim communities in Christchurch had long warned authorities on the growing threat of violence against them felt the raw brunt of that hatred that day.

“The incredible outpouring of love for our Muslim communities signalled the fact that New Zealanders will expect the hard truths contained in this report be taken seriously; that the agencies implicated will be held accountable, and victims’ rights will be made real.

“The report spoke of a long running frustrations from affected communities with the public service, who they felt did not properly listen to or support them. Now is the time to fix these systems which may have tacitly allowed their victimisation.

“I am heartened to see the report acknowledged many of the existing flaws that impact these communities. This includes the fact that counter-terrorism services disproportionately targeted Muslim communities rather than threats by far right terrorism faced by that community. If resource had been properly allocated to combatting far-right terror, who knows where we would be today.

“Police were found to have failed to meet the standards of firearms administration and licensing.

“The Government must respond with changes to ensure these unacceptable failures in our systems do not reoccur.

“Most importantly, we must listen to those impacted as to whether the recommendations fit the needs and expectations of the affected community.

“If communities and victims are asking for different solutions or more than what is recommended in the Royal Commission, whether that be compensation, accountability or transparency, we must listen with an open ear and respond accordingly.

“I hope the handing down of this report gives us a renewed opportunity as a country to weave the outpouring of aroha for our Muslim community last March into a lasting, inclusive and fair fabric of our society.”

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