PM's Post-Cabinet Press Conference 25/3/19: Mosque Attacks Royal Commission, China Visit

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was joined by Foreign Minister and Deputy PM Winston Peters for Monday's post-cabinet press conference. She began by announcing cabinet's decision that the inquiry into the events leading up to the 15 March attacks at mosques in Christchurch would be a Royal Commission. Terms of reference will be developed in the next two weeks, with the inquiry to cover gun availability, social media, and the focus of agencies (The SIS, GCSB, Police, Customs, Immigration, and any others deemed relevant) – how they were concentrating their resources and what opportunities there may have been to prevent the attack. Ms Ardern said the terms of reference and size of the inquiry to encourage a timely report. Ms Ardern also announced a long-expect trip to China was scheduled for the beginning of next week. The trip was scheduled to be longer and include a business delegation but has been cut to one day of meetings due to the Christchurch attacks. Questions around the mosque attacks covered surveillance law, social media companies' response to the live-streamed video of the attack (and how the government was dealing with these and other websites hosting such content), Winston Peters' meeting with Turkey's President Erdoğan and New Zealand's presentation to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on New Zealand's response to the attacks and our status as an inclusive nation (including whether Mr Peter was awake for all of it, Erdoğan's continued, though different, use of the video in campaign rallies, and the safety of New Zealanders attending ANZAC commemorations), potential topics for discussions in China (including the treatment of Uighur muslims), the resources involved in protecting the Turkish diplomatic presence that came to Christchurch following the attacks, the SIS's approach to the Muslim community and more recent attention on right wing terrorism, suggestions (by people including the opposition leader) that the cancelled GCSB 'Speargun' programme may have helped agencies prior to the attack (Ms Ardern, mirroring previous statements by John Key, said she understood Speargun was a cybersecurity plan, rather than an intelligence gather one), planning for a gun buyback programme and a possible gun register, the possibility of an increase in racist incidents in NZ since the Christchurch attacks, and the potential for extraditing the gunman to Australia. Ardern said New Zealand would not be reconsidering the death penalty.