An Opposition Australian MP is calling on his own Government to "recognise" New Zealand's Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch mosque attack.
The Royal Commission report was made public on Tuesday and made 44 recommendations, including establishing a clear line between freedom and hate speech. The New Zealand Government has committed to implementing all recommendations made in the report, which included establishing a clear line between freedom and hate speech.
Australia multicultural affairs opposition spokesperson Andrew Giles told Parliament in Canberra on Tuesday his own country also needed to recognise the report. The Royal Commission report revealed that Brenton Tarrant, an Australian who moved to New Zealand in 2017, displayed "racist behaviour" from a young age, before eventually mobilising to violence.
"We must recognise that an Australian terrorist committed these atrocities - an Australian that was radicalised here on our soil," Giles told MPs.
He said it hurt him to read in the report that Muslims felt unsafe even before March 15, 2019 - the day of the attack.
"We must recognise that Australia is not immune to terrorist attacks from homegrown right-wing-extremists.
"This must be a call to action. To say no to hate, and to recognise the grave threat posed by right-wing extremism."
On Tuesday, Islamic Women's Council spokesperson Anjum Rahman said she had her fingers crossed for meaningful change.
"We want to see some meaningful change. For me that systemic bias, those blind spots, that reluctance to believe communities - that needs to change.
"The way that the Government engages with communities and the way that they empower communities - that needs to change. The way that the resourcing is allocated also needs to change," she told the AM Show.
According to the report, the gunman started using the online platform 4chan, often used for hate speech, from age 14. The Royal Commission believes exposure to such content contributed to his actions on March 15.
"The individual began expressing racist ideas from a young age, including at school and when referring to his mother's then partner's Aboriginal ancestry," the Commission states.
Fifty-one people were killed and 40 were injured when the terrorist, who's serving a life sentence without possibility of parole, opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch.
In August, after the sentencing, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison vowed never to speak the name of the shooter.
"I had a discussion - with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and we were, of course, talking about the case itself and I'm pleased that terrorist will never be released anywhere ever again," he told Channel 7's Sunrise programme.
"We've got to focus on the families that were affected - in this case, all Australians and all New Zealanders would want to see this character locked up forever and never see the light of day again."
Morrison and Australia Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton both said they were open to discussing the terrorist's transfer back to his country of birth.
"Obviously this is a very sensitive issue," Dutton told The Today Show in August.
"I've asked for some legal advice but we'll work very closely with New Zealand."
He said Australia had a "very special" relationship with New Zealand.
"The first priority is to keep him in jail for the rest of his life and we'll work very closely with New Zealand on any request they provide."
