The Front Page podcast: Love and unity as New Zealand stops to honour victims of terror attack

The Al Noor Mosque during the Call to Prayer at Hagley Park in Christchurch. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Each weekday The Front Page keeps you up to date with the biggest news in New Zealand. Today it's the entire country coming to a halt, as silence and prayer is used to honour those lost in a terror attack a week ago. Legal action is threatened over changes to our training systems, and a giant swamp kauri log more than 40 thousand years old is discovered. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Listen to "Love and unity as New Zealand stops to honour victims of terror attack" on Spreaker.

Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple podcasts here, iHeartRadio here, and Stitcher here.

Today at 1.30pm all of New Zealand came to a halt to remember the victims of the Christchurch terror attacks a week ago.

It started with a call to prayer, followed by two minutes' silence.

It was marked in cities around the country, and even some overseas.

Fifty people of Muslim religion died in the terrorist attack perpetrated by one accused gunman - 48 more were wounded, some critically, including a 4-year-old girl who is still fighting for her life.

Thousands gathered in Hagley Park, opposite the Masjid Al Noor on Deans Ave.

Several of the injured were seated at the front of the prayer mat in wheelchairs.

Al Noor Mosque Imam, Gamal Fouda, told the crowd he sees the love and compassion in the eyes of thousands of New Zealanders.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told those gathered: "New Zealand mourns with you. We are one."

In Wellington, more than a thousand people formed a human chain in the streets surrounding Kilbirnie mosque.

Some Muslim women have said they are scared to wear headscarves, afraid they'll be targeted.

In response, thousands of women around the country choose to don a headscarf today, to visibly support our Muslim community.

And a show of solidarity was made on the other side of the world.

Hundreds of New Zealanders and Britons filled London's Trafalgar Square to pay their respects.

Further vigils are planned for tonight, many around the country.

Thousands are expected at a vigil in Auckland domain starting at 6pm tonight.

Four Auckland mosques are opening their doors to all New Zealanders between 5-8pm tonight, in Ponsonby, Ranui, North Shore and Pakuranga.

For more on this story, click here

The nationwide reflection comes as a Christchurch high school student has given a harrowing account of being shot at the Al Noor Mosque.

Zaid Mustafa, 14, went to the mosque with his father and his 16-year-old brother Hamza.

He saw his elder brother shot in the hip area during the attack last Friday, as they both tried to flee. It caused Zaid to jump and he was then shot in the leg.

He lay and begged for help as the gunman continued to massacre Friday worshippers.

Neither of them knew their father Khaled Mustafa, 44, had already been shot dead. Hamza later died from his injuries.

The father and son were laid to rest yesterday.

Zaid's mother, Salwa Mustafa, has also spoken about her loss.

She lost her husband and son, but says the attacks will only make them stronger.

For more on this story, click here

Meanwhile, the gun reform announced yesterday will happen in two phases.

A ban, amnesty and buy-back of military-style semi-automatics and assault rifles has been announced.

Police Minister Stuart Nash says the first phase is banning the weapons and getting them out of the market.

He says the second phase will be looking at things with more detail - such as the possibility of a gun register.

Nash hasn't confirmed whether he favours one, but he says a paper will be before Cabinet on Monday on the topic.

Federated Farmers is supporting the move to ban military-style weapons.

Fed Farmers security spokesman Miles Anderson says there are semi-automatic weapons on farms - but not many military-style ones.

For more on this story, click here

If you're sharing or spreading footage of the Christchurch attack, be warned, there is a team of digital detectives on your case.

The Department of Internal Affairs has a dedicated unit of about 30 people tracking down offenders who share objectionable content, and arrests have already been made.

For more on this story, click here

Several New Zealanders are now facing criminal charges after allegedly inciting fear and violence following the terror attacks.

One of the arrested is a 25-year-old Auckland man who is accused of threatening members of the public.

He addressed people on Stoddard Rd in Mt Roskill and said: "I'm going to kill someone ... F*ck New Zealand."

In Palmerston North a man was spoken to by police after standing outside a mosque while wearing a singlet with a swastika emblazoned on it.

Police confirmed to the Herald today a Whanganui man was "moved on" after a short time outside the Manawatū Islamic Centre on Monday.

Police say that even in instances where people are not charged, their details are being entered into the intelligence system, so that they can follow up if required.

For more on this story, click here

In the continuing backlash against social media giants, Tourism New Zealand has suspended its marketing campaign, and is putting its Facebook and YouTube strategy under review.

Tourism NZ says the ''pause'' is across all marketing platforms.

But it does spend about 80 per cent of its $45 million annual advertising budget in digital channels, which gives it deep international reach.

These include Facebook and Google-owned YouTube, which have been widely condemned for allowing offensive content related to the attacks to be run on their sites.

Tourism NZ spokeswoman Rebecca Ingram says the pause is a direct response to the events in Christchurch.

She says at this stage it's too early to say how and when they will start promotion again.

State Services Minister Chris Hipkins says a review of government agencies' current and planned use of social media platforms is under way.

For more on this story, click here

KiwiSaver fund manager Milford Asset Management has now joined the commercial backlash, dumping about $14m worth of Facebook shares, and stopping ads on the social media company.

It has joined the call from government-backed retirement fund managers for Facebook, Google and Twitter to take greater care monitoring content posted to social media platforms.

Milford founder Brian Gaynor has confirmed the sale by the fund, which manages close to $14 billion of investors' funds and holds about 2.8 per cent of the KiwiSaver market according to figures from Morningstar.

On Facebook advertising, he says "we may come back, if Facebook substantially increases its monitoring".

Milford chief executive Mark Ryland says "Facebook, Google and Twitter must take action following the live-streaming and content sharing on social media of the Christchurch terror attacks.

"Not acknowledging any responsibility for their platforms is not acceptable. Social media companies need to provide genuine assurance around their course of action."

For more on this story, click here

An industry training body is threatening to go to the High Court and the Waitangi Tribunal to delay a radical shakeup of the country's training system.

Skills Active, which runs training for recreation and performing arts, has told Education Minister Chris Hipkins it will seek a judicial review of his actions in the High Court unless he extends the consultation deadline to June 30.

The industry shakeup, unveiled by Hipkins in February, would abolish Skills Active and 10 other industry training organisations.

Instead, new industry skills bodies would be created to set the standards for vocational qualifications, and actual management of industry training would be transferred to a proposed NZ Institute of Skills and Technology which would also take over all existing polytechnics.

Hipkins initially allowed only a six-week consultation period, until March 27, but extended that on Wednesday by one week, to April 5, because of the Christchurch mosque attacks.

Skills Active chief executive Dr Grant Davidson has now written to Hipkins saying that, unless the consultation deadline was extended to June 30, Skills Active "will reluctantly have no option but to consider filing judicial review proceedings".

The letter included a legal draft claiming the short consultation period was a breach of Skills Active's "legitimate expectation" to be consulted properly, a breach of "natural justice".

Hipkins's office confirmed it had received a letter from Skills Active but said: "We have nothing further to add at this point."

For more on this story, click here

Good news, the Queensland fruit fly trapping in Auckland is ending after no breeding populations were found.

Controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the suburbs of Devonport and Ōtara have been lifted.

The decision announced today by the Ministry for Primary Industries followed several weeks of intensive trapping and inspections of hundreds of kilograms of fruit.

As a precautionary measure, an enhanced network of fruit fly traps will be maintained in Devonport and between Devonport and Northcote, as well as in Ōtara, for an extended period.

For more on this story, click here

Auckland electricity lines company Vector has been ordered by the Auckland High Court to pay a multi-million-dollar penalty.

The $3.575 million fine has been imposed because the organisation breached its network quality standard due to a high number of power outages.

Vector serves more than half a million homes and businesses in the greater Auckland region and as a regulated business must comply with Commerce Commission regulations regarding the maximum revenue it can collect and the minimum standards of quality it must deliver.

Commission deputy chairwoman Sue Begg says Vector failed to adhere to good industry practice in some aspects of its network management, which resulted in it breaching the Commission's regulations on quality standards in the 2015 and 2016 financial years.

For more on this story, click here

A massive swamp kauri log unearthed near Kaikohe has been dated as being around 40,500 years old.

The log, which is 16m long and weighs 60 tonnes, was found during excavation for a new geothermal power station near Ngāwhā Springs.

It was delivered to Ngāwhā Marae on Wednesday by power company Top Energy in a major logistical operation.

Ngāwhā Marae Trustees Komiti chairman Richard Woodman says no decision has been made yet about what to do with the rawa (resource).

Carving was one possibility but there was a lot of talking to be done first.

He says the marae is open to sharing the rakau (tree) if other marae want some of it, and they're certainly not just going to keep it for themselves.

The find has also sparked great excitement among scientists hoping to gain a better understanding of the ancient climate.

Alan Hogg, director of the Waikato Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory at Waikato University, dated the tree to 40,500 years plus or minus 400 years.

That makes it of great interest to scientists studying the Laschamp Event, a ''magnetic reversal'' in which the Earth's north and south magnetic poles switched places.

For more on this story, click here

That's the Front Page for today, Friday, March 22, making sure you're across the biggest news of the day. For more on these stories, check out The New Zealand Herald, or tune in to Newstalk ZB.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple podcasts here, iHeartRadio here, and Stitcher here.

If you like to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Frances Cook on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.