New terror laws in New Zealand after Auckland attack
The New Zealand Government will now overhaul terrorism laws by the end of the month, in the wake of a knife attack committed by a terrorist who was under police surveillance.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern fronted media on Saturday afternoon with further details about the man behind the attack, including the efforts taken by police to keep him in custody or GPS monitored in the community, as concern about the risk he posed grew.
She also said the Government had sought to hurry changes to the terrorism laws in the months after the man was released into the community. The justice minister made a phone call to make this happen the day the attack happened.
"We must be willing to make the changes that we know may not necessarily have changed history, but could change the future," she said.
The 32-year-old man, who cannot be named due to court suppressions, entered a Countdown supermarket in New Lynn, Auckland on Friday afternoon and stabbed seven people, leaving three in a critical condition, with a knife picked up from the store's shelf.
The man had been under 24/7 surveillance by police, and officers within minutes shot the man dead. He was a supporter of the extremist ideology of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis), a designated terror group.
"When you have a highly motivated lone actor, like this individual, it is incredibly tough," Ms Ardern said.
How the terrorist was handled
Ms Ardern on Saturday gave more details about the terrorist's criminal history, having been liberated from a court suppression that Crown lawyers sought to remove late on Friday evening.
But particular details about the man's immigration status remained suppressed, with the courts allowing his family 24 hours to contest information being released.
After two days on bail, he bought another knife. He was arrested again, more extremist, objectionable material was found, and he was placed in custody.
New terrorism laws
After nearly a decade of warnings from officials the terror laws might not be sufficient, the Royal Commission into the March 15 terror attack in December recommended the Government provide the police and intelligence agencies "with the means to disrupt planning and preparation terrorist attacks".
Such a provision does not exist in the Terror Suppression Act 2002, and attempts by police to prosecute possible terror planning – including the actions of the supermarket terrorist – had failed.
Ms Ardern on Saturday mapped out the Government's work to reform the law, which she said began in September 2018, and carried on throughout 2019.
The Government in April 2021 released details of its proposed law changes, which would broaden the scope of what has been considered terrorist activity, allowing law enforcement agencies to consider the planning or training for an attack as a terrorist activity, and provide warrantless search and entry powers to do so.
The bill had been in the select committee process in recent months, and a group of MPs had been hearing public submissions on how it should be written.
After receiving a written update on the man's case in July, Ms Ardern said she met with officials on August 9 to discuss what more could be done to mitigate the risk posed by the man.
Earlier this week, Mr Coster suggested expediting the proposed law changes. Within 48 hours of this discussion, Ms Ardern said, Justice Minister Kris Faafoi called the chair of the justice select committee to hurry it along.
"That was yesterday, the same day the attack happened," Ms Ardern said.
"The public have had their say, and now Parliament must act."
But the bill has raised concerns for how it may damage civil liberties. The privacy commissioner, who supported the intent of the law change, does not support control orders and said the warrantless search powers pose a "grave" risk to the public's privacy rights.
The Islamic Women's Council has opposed the law changes. Last month, the council's national co-ordinator Aliya Danzeisen told the select committee scrutinising the bill the organisation feared how the laws might be used on her community.
"We have lived the life of counter-terrorism laws for 20 years. We have been the focus of those laws for the last two decades," she said.
"The proposed legislation as drafted is going to erode fundamental human rights."
National Party leader Judith Collins has already offered to support the urgent passing of the counter-terror laws.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/auckland-terror-attack-jacinda-ardern-says-new-terror-laws-will-be-passed-this-month/25136e7c-b912-4af0-bfbe-ee59306f928e