Winston Peters says Kiwis could be in danger due to people sharing the live stream footage of the Christchurch terror attack.
Peters was with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in a post Cabinet press conference on Monday, when they were questioned about the footage - specifically about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who aired excerpts of the live stream at a political rally on Friday.
"I made it very clear to Vice-President [Fuat] Oktay and [Melvut] Cavusoglu who is their Foreign Minister just last night that anything of that nature that misrepresents this country - given that [the shooter] was a non-New Zealand citizen - imperils the future and safety of New Zealand people and our people abroad and it's totally unfair," he said.
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He said New Zealand has made its opposition of terrorism very clear, and he expects other countries to recognise that.
"We had a long dialogue on the need for any other country, or Turkey for that matter, to ensure that our country, New Zealand, was not misrepresented.
We did not start or bring about this disaster, and they clearly understood that."
Ardern agreed with Peters in that the primary suspect was not a New Zealander.
"However that is not to say there are not those who live in New Zealand who hold values and ideas and use language that is completely counter to what the vast majority of New Zealanders believe and I don't think we can ignore that," she said.
"We cannot ignore that if we are going to continue to ensure the safety of our Muslim communities and others, the 200 ethnicities that live in New Zealand, we have to be live to the fact that there are others who do not share our values of openness, of diversity, of compassion and that is something we are going to have to confront as a nation."
The Government website, Safetravel has published a warning for travellers in the wake of the attack.
"The terrorist attacks in Christchurch on 15 March, which were motivated by extreme right-wing ideology, have attracted global attention and strong international condemnation," reads the warning.
"International reactions to those events are difficult to predict and may change at short notice. New Zealanders travelling overseas should continue to use common sense, exercise caution and be vigilant."
"New Zealanders should also continue to avoid demonstrations and protests as they can turn violent."
Newshub.
