New Zealand’s ban on semi-automatic weapons and assault firearms is one small step in a country that will need to address gaps in its security approach.
Parkland, Florida, where 17 people died in a school shooting on Valentine’s Day 2018, was already a place of highly secure, gated communities, so the survivors instead united against guns and hate.
New Zealand is the last major landmass to be settled. One of the sites of earliest occupation is under threat from development, despite its cultural significance for Māori.
Groups promoting right wing extremism, like the Antipodean Resistance and the Lads Society, have recently dominated headlines, but they are far from the sum of the extreme right in Australia.
The recent massacre at a New Zealand mosque is a traceable, direct outgrowth of an American white nationalist movement that insists immigrants and people of color are a threat to ‘white civilization.’
It’s distressing to see reports of terrorist attacks but these feelings will usually abate over days or weeks. But people with a history of trauma need to take extra care of their mental health.
It’s time for social media platforms to be more open about how livestreaming works, how it is moderated, and what should happen if or when the rules break down.
Until social platforms improve filtering of extremist content, we all have a role to play in ensuring our online activities don’t contribute to a spectacle society that rewards terrorists with clicks.
There is deep sadness in the Christchurch attacks, but little shock. We need to address the permissive political environment that allows such hateful extremism to be promulgated so openly.
Research shows that many members of dominant groups perceive minorities and immigrant groups as a threat, which builds up to fear and hate. We can all do something to change that.
My research focuses on terrorism in or affecting New Zealand. Until yesterday, my phone didn’t ring often because few were interested in anything I had to say. Since yesterday, it has not stopped.
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University