The Coronial inquest into the mosque terror attack has started in Christchurch - with a powerful and harrowing video tribute to the 51 men, women and children murdered as they gathered to pray in March 2019.
Each victim’s name and age appeared on screens, most with images and moving written or read tributes from their loved ones describing who they were and how special and loved they were.
The tributes spoke of adored fathers, treasured brothers, cherished sons, parents awaiting the birth of their first children, innocent toddlers and teens with their whole lives ahead of them, desperately loved and missed mothers, wives, sisters, aunts, grandmothers and friends.
They spoke of people who had moved to New Zealand to follow dreams, to escape the ravages of war and famine for better and safer lives; of people who worked hard and loved deeply; of people who were brave, heroic and courageous in the face of terror.
The video portrayed the acute pain of loss felt by the families of the 51 and tears flowed across the courtroom as the video played - from families of the fallen to lawyers, court staff and journalists.
The inquest opened this morning with a mihi and karakia and recitation from the Qur’an by Imam Gamal Fouda, who was leading Friday prayers at the Al Noor mosque when the terror attack began.
Before the video played, Deputy Chief Coroner Brigitte Windley made a brief opening address about the inquest process and why it was crucial for not just the families of the dead and survivors but the whole of New Zealand to seek answers.
She said the objective was to provide answers to outstanding questions for grieving families about what happened to their loved ones - and to examine whether anything further can be done to prevent further tragedies.
“This inquiry presents an important and critical opportunity to also look at what we may learn from this atrocity and speak for those who have lost their lives in an effort to protect the living,” she said.
“This can be hard, confronting, distressing. It takes courage and a willingness to be open to reflection the possibility of learning lessons and turning truth to power.
“This is an opportunity to consider that the response to such extraordinary events like this could be improved in the future, despite our strongest desire that we never again have to.
“So even if we approach these issues from different perspectives, we all share that common goal of reducing the chances of similar events in the future.
“We all share that common goal of reducing the chance for similar in the future ... I ask simply that we keep in mind each of the 51 people whose lives have been lost.”
Coroner Windley said the inquest was the first opportunity for those impacted by the terror attack to access information that had not previously been available to them during the criminal prosecution of the gunman or the Royal Commission.
She said thousands of documents had been submitted, along with many hours of video ahead of the inquest, which is set down for six weeks.
It had been a “challenging” and “unprecedented” process, she said.
Coroner Windley said the inquest was not a chance to relitigate the facts or blame anyone other than the terrorist - it was about finding truth and answers.
“It is about accountability for actions - or inactions,” she explained.
“I want to be clear that this is not an inquiry into the life of the man who was found criminally responsible for each of the 51 deaths.
“No exploration of the issues is meant in any way to minimise or distract from the fact that each of these deaths was caused by the deliberate and heinous actions of that individual.”
Coroner Windley said for most of the 51 victims, “death was instant or extremely rapid leaving no question of possible survival”.
However for “a small number we need to look at that more closely”.
“There can be no question that the events of March 15 called for an extraordinary emergency response in extraordinary circumstances,” she said.
“We must take care not to let hindsight distort our assessment of decisions and actions taken at the time, and not to imply a retrospective reason for actions or inaction.”
She said there was no way to sum up the profound effects the terror attack had on the victims’ families, the bullet wounded, the witnesses and the wider community.
“I recognise that many of your lives have been forever impacted,” she said.
“While each of the 51 were joined together by faith, the events of March 15 have also joined them together in their death.
“But none of them are defined by what happened on March 15 - we must recognise each of them as a unique life that has been lost, that each and every one has left behind loved ones, and each and every one has left a gap in our community.
“I ask that we bring the memories of the 51 lives that were lost to this court so that we may give them a voice, so that we can transition from darkness to light, so that we may emerge with a better understanding of the facts and the truth is revealed by the evidence that we get.
“I know for all of you who have been affected by the events of that day, that this coronial inquiry will bring with it a range of emotions and expectations.”
Coroner Windley said people were “often surprised to learn that there are matters related to March 15 still under inquiry” and explained further what her role was.
“Given the criminal prosecution and the Royal Commission of Inquiry, I’ve been asked what the point of this care inquiry is, more than four years on - and what good can possibly come about,” she said.
“I know, for many, the coroner’s court is - fortunately - unfamiliar territory.
“In essence, a coronial inquiry is a dual focus on the past and on the future.
“An inquiry seeks to shine a light on the past by way of an inquisitorial process in an effort to determine the cause and circumstances of death ... identifying the contributors to death.”
A minute’s silence was held in honour of the 51 victims before the lunch adjournment.
This afternoon, a timeline video will be played which will give an overview of the day of the attack.
It will contain footage and audio from the day, including from emergency services and segments from the live video taken by the terrorist that was livestreamed to Facebook.
The Chief Censor prohibited the viewing of the video after the attack but has allowed the Coroner to use certain parts of it for context at the inquest.
Coroner Windley advised the court before lunch that while the victims were blurred in the footage that would be shown, it would still be upsetting and confronting.
On March 15, 2019, Australian national Brenton Harrison Tarrant killed 51 people and wounded 40 others when he stormed into two Christchurch mosques during Friday prayers and began shooting indiscriminately with high-powered firearms he had been stockpiling.
He filmed the entire massacre, streaming his deadly actions live via Facebook.
In March 2020, Tarrant pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and a terrorism charge.
He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Today’s inquest began at 10am at the Christchurch Justice Precinct.
Three courtrooms have been allocated to accommodate the proceedings - a main courtroom where Coroner Windley will hear the evidence and two overflow courtrooms where family and friends of the victims, survivors and their supporters and other interested parties can watch live on screens.
More than 600 people are registered to attend the hearing in person at some stage over the next six weeks.
A further 100 people have registered to watch the hearing online via a livestream.
The hearing will begin on October 24 and is set down until December 15 with a recess from November 20-24.
The court will try to avoid sitting on Friday afternoons to accommodate weekly prayer times - but it may become necessary because of the number of witnesses who will be giving evidence.
The court will not sit on November 17, which is Canterbury Anniversary Day.
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