NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Christchurch mosque shootings six months on: PM praises victims' families 'extraordinary' response

Derek Cheng
By Derek Cheng
Senior Writer·NZ Herald·
14 Sep, 2019 11:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Jacinda Ardern visits Christchurch the day after 51 people were killed attending prayers at two mosques. Photo / Kirk Hargreaves

Jacinda Ardern visits Christchurch the day after 51 people were killed attending prayers at two mosques. Photo / Kirk Hargreaves

The open, welcoming arms of the victims' families the day after the traumatic events of March 15 has made the biggest impact on Jacinda Ardern as she reflects on the six-month anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shootings.

In an exclusive interview with the Herald, the Prime Minister shared the moments that have stayed with her from the days after the shootings in two Christchurch mosques that left 51 people dead.

Ardern was in transit in New Plymouth at the time the shootings started, 1.40pm on a Friday, and headed to the local police station when informed of what was happening.

"My reflections will probably exactly mirror New Zealanders, as in knowing the moment I first heard the news, and then watching [TV coverage], and then receiving those briefings straight off the bat around just how horrific the scale and extent," she said.

"But without doubt it was the visits I made on the Saturday that I think will leave the biggest mark on me."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That was the day after the shootings, and Ardern had given a press conference in Wellington that morning before flying to Christchurch with other ministers on the Defence Force 757.

Deciding to don a black hijab with gold trim, Ardern met Islamic leaders at a refugee centre with media present.

She then went to at Hagley Park to meet privately with the families of those killed, and followed that with a visit to the injured in hospital.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Those meetings she later revealed were "very emotional", and those moments are the ones that stand out six months later.

"Not knowing what to expect in the aftermath of such horrific trauma, to be met in the way we all were with arms outstretched and welcoming, and people that I'd seen the day prior in the images of them being amongst the attack, the very next day them using words like 'thanks' to the people of New Zealand for the outpouring of love they'd received.

Discover more

New Zealand|politics

Assault rifle and military style semi-automatic weapons to be banned

21 Mar 04:32 AM
New Zealand|politics

When the call came: Inside Jacinda Ardern's 72 hours after mosque attacks

05 Apr 04:00 PM
New Zealand|politics

Q&A with Jacinda Ardern on her whirlwind trip to Paris and Singapore

17 May 09:10 AM
New Zealand|politics

PM Jacinda Ardern speaks six months on from mosque attacks

13 Sep 02:00 AM
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern waves to the crowd after attending the huge Friday pray meeting that was held in Hagley Park to mark the one-week anniversary of the shootings. Photo / Alan Gibson
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern waves to the crowd after attending the huge Friday pray meeting that was held in Hagley Park to mark the one-week anniversary of the shootings. Photo / Alan Gibson

"It was extraordinary to me. It was just extraordinary that they reacted in that way."

The way she dealt with the families has been widely lauded, but Ardern said she was simply doing what every other New Zealander was also doing.

"That was a very genuine outpouring of grief and unity that we saw across the country, and I've often reflected that I felt I was only mirroring what I was seeing from every other New Zealander around me.

"I just happened to be in the position of having the podium and the place to speak and be amplified in that aftermath. But what I was talking about was simply a reflection of what I saw."

Ardern attended to many issues in those early days including supporting victims' families, organising a national memorial service, setting up a Royal Commission of Inquiry and putting together what would become the Christchurch Call to combat online terrorism.

Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper in Dubai, with a projection of Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Twitter
Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper in Dubai, with a projection of Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Twitter

But she is most proud of how Parliament banded together to support the first tranche of gun laws, which banned most semi-automatic firearms.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"In the immediate aftermath, I was just so heartened by the response of Parliament around that first set of gun legislation. We went in and presented those proposals and said the law will change [on the morning of March 16] without actually knowing whether or not we had the support of Parliament.

"To see everyone come on board and almost unanimously support that reform [Act's David Seymour opposed], I was proud of Parliament for that."

Previous Parliaments had debated reforms but failed to follow through.

"This was the moment where there was a really galvanised view amongst politicians and the public, so that was the time to act."

Ardern is hopeful that cross-party support will remain for the second tranche of gun law reforms, which would establish a national gun register, though the National Party has said it is unlikely to support them.

Also on the to-do list is changing domestic legislation to tackle online terrorism, which Ardern flagged in May on her way back from the Paris summit.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during her press conference in Christchurch on March 20. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during her press conference in Christchurch on March 20. Photo / Mark Mitchell

But she said the Christchurch Call - specifically the cooperation between governments, global tech companies and internet stakeholders - would make a bigger difference.

Ardern said there was still work to be done, not least around bullying of minority groups.

"No one wants to hear stories of members of our Muslim community saying that some of the abuse that used to get hurled at them, they stop noticing because it was just so normal. No one wants to hear that in New Zealand. We all know we have more work to do.

"It's only been six months. There's a big journey for us all yet to go."

READ MORE:
• Firearms register announced as part of Government's second tranche of gun law reforms
• Judge changes date of Christchurch terror trial to avoid Ramadan clash
• Mosque shooting video: White supremacist Philip Arps' appeal against jail dismissed
• Watch: Closed until further notice - a life on hold after the mosque attacks

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Storm leaves 13,000 without power in Tasman

11 Jul 08:18 AM
New Zealand|crime

'S*** happens': Injured motorcyclist's gracious response to being hit by car

11 Jul 08:00 AM
Politics

Peeni Henare likely favourite to stand for Labour in Tāmaki Makaurau byelection

11 Jul 07:20 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Storm leaves 13,000 without power in Tasman

Storm leaves 13,000 without power in Tasman

11 Jul 08:18 AM

High winds are ramping up.

'S*** happens': Injured motorcyclist's gracious response to being hit by car

'S*** happens': Injured motorcyclist's gracious response to being hit by car

11 Jul 08:00 AM
Peeni Henare likely favourite to stand for Labour in Tāmaki Makaurau byelection

Peeni Henare likely favourite to stand for Labour in Tāmaki Makaurau byelection

11 Jul 07:20 AM
Watch: 'My raging backyard river' - North Shore homeowner fears stormwater torrent

Watch: 'My raging backyard river' - North Shore homeowner fears stormwater torrent

11 Jul 06:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP