New Zealand's darkest day: 'Our hearts are heavy but our spirit is strong'

New Zealand's political leaders have paid tribute to the victims of the Christchurch mosque attacks and spoken of the country's collective grief.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern led condolences from political leaders in Parliament yesterday in a special sitting which began with Speaker Trevor Mallard leading religious leaders of all faiths into the debating chamber.

Prayers were offered by each of the religious representatives, beginning with a Muslim prayer.

Ardern told Parliament the 15th of March would now be a date etched in everyone's memories.

"That quiet Friday afternoon has become our darkest of days," she said.

Ardern said she never anticipated ever having to voice the grief of the nation and had hoped never to.

She spoke directly to the families. "We cannot know your grief, but we can walk with you at every stage. Our hearts are heavy but our spirit is strong."

Ardern said the nation remained on high alert and while there was no specific threat, the country was maintaining its vigilance.

She said there had rightly been questions about how the atrocity had occurred, and promised that all those questions would be answered.

"We cannot allow this to happen again."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern greets members of the Muslim community in Parliament, Wellington. Photo / Jason Walls

She stressed the focus now was on ensuring the needs of families were met, but signalled that New Zealand would give nothing to the Australian man accused of shooting dead 50 worshippers at the two Christchurch mosques, not even a name.

"That is why you will never hear me mention his name. He is a terrorist. He is a criminal. He is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless," she said.

"Speak the names of those who were lost, rather than name of the man who took them."

Her comments came amid mounting concern that the gunman plans to use his trial as a way to promote his extremist views, after it was revealed that he plans to represent himself in court.

Ardern said this was "something that we need to acknowledge and do what we can to prevent the notoriety that this individual seeks".

In a stand up in Christchurch, director of the Ministry of Civil Defence Sarah Stuart-Black said it was important to understand where more resources might be needed and the changing nature of those needs.

Flower tributes near Deans Avenue Masjid Al Noor, Hagley Park, Christchurch. Photo / Michael Craig

She said the response from communities had been humbling, but it needed to be balanced with the privacy of the victims.

"As families do have their loved ones returned to them, they deserve our respect and privacy to mourn and we need to give them the space to be able to do that," she said.

Terry Brown from the NZ Customs Service said it was playing a lead role around the repatriation of bodies to loved ones overseas.

"We are working closely with police to insure that can be expedited and facilitated," he said.

The process of repatriation of bodies is still being worked through over the coming days.

Peter Elms from Immigration NZ said it had set up a 24/7 priority process to "insure we are able to very quickly facilitate the entry of family into New Zealand to support the victims".

Elms said, to date, 65 visas had been granted for family members.

A police officer stands guard in front of the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch. Photo / AP

He said it was too early to talk about future policy, but there were already discussions between Government and officials about what the options might be for securing the long-term future of people affected.

Phil Riley from ACC said both the dependants of those killed in this incident, and those who have been injured will be privy to ongoing entitlements.

Both partners and dependants based overseas are also eligible for the survivors' grant, as well as compensation for lost income if the victim was working in NZ when they were killed.

David Meates from CDHB said 30 people remained in Christchurch Hospital, nine of which are still in intensive care and in a critical condition.

A four-year-old child also remains at Starship Hospital, while her father was transferred to Auckland Hospital.

Meates said the support line set up following the attack had also had just over 600 people get in contact for support.

Katrina Casey from the Ministry of Education said 68 Christchurch schools had also sought direct support, as well as 19 early childhood centres.

Traumatic incident teams were also working with five Auckland schools, four in Waikato, 45 in Wellington, and 21 in Dunedin.