Mosque attacks  |  28 Mar 2019

Share this story

The first Christchurch City Council meeting since the mosque attacks has started with a minute's silence and a formal condemnation of the attacks which claimed 50 lives.

“It is with a heavy heart that I stand to record the atrocity that was perpetrated on our city on March 15, 2019, and to invite all of us as the Christchurch City Council to record our condemnation for this attack, which may have targeted our Muslim communities, but which was an attack on us all - an attack on our values - and our way of life,’’ Mayor Lianne Dalziel said.

The flower tribute wall.

The flower tribute wall on Rolleston Avenue.

“This act, which was inspired by hatred and was designed to divide us and tear us apart; it has instead united us with all our communities and embraced us in compassion and love.’'

Read the Mayor's full speech.

Mayor Dalziel said the man allegedly responsible for the attacks was entitled to a fair legal process but he was entitled to no more.  No name. And no voice to his extremist views.

"He came to our city with hatred in his heart and his intention to kill already formed in his mind. His hate was not born here nor nurtured here.

"However, we all have a responsibility to ask the hard questions of ourselves about what comfort any of us might give to people who harbour these extremist views, through anything we might say or do.'' 

The Mayor called on Councillors to all work together to ensure Christchurch's Multicultural Strategy - which is based on the vision of an inclusive, multicultural city where all people belong - is translated into reality.

She also asked them to collectively express their gratitude and thanks to all those who have played such an extraordinary role in Christchurch since the attacks occurred. 

After a minute's silence in memory of those who lost their lives, the Council unanimously passed a formal resolution condemning the attacks.

The words of the Council resolution

That as a Council:

  • We condemn the attacks on our Muslim brothers and sisters as they worshipped at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre on March 15, 2019, and extend our deepest sympathy to the families of those whose lives were so cruelly taken and express our heartfelt sorrow to those who were injured and to the members of all our Muslim communities. Your pain is our pain, we are united in our shared grief; none of us stands alone, we stand together as one;
  • We affirm our commitment to Otautahi Christchurch being a city of peace and a city that honours human rights, by truly living up to being a city of inclusion that embraces diversity, as declared in the Christchurch Multicultural Strategy Te Rautaki Matawaka Rau – Our Future Together, and we are thankful to all the people of Christchurch, who have demonstrated their commitment to its vision by coming together as one to offer support and care for each other at this time and into the future;
  • We express our gratitude for the extraordinary efforts of our first responders including the NZ Police, St John and the members of the community at the mosques and passers-by, and honour those who went above and beyond the call of duty;
  • We express our thanks to all the hospital staff, who worked tirelessly to save lives and offer care to those who were injured and their families, and to the Coroner’s, Council, City Care and funeral director teams, and members of the Muslim community, who all worked together to ensure the families could bury their loved ones with dignity and respect;
  • We express our thanks to the teachers, who looked after our schoolchildren yet again, providing reassurance at a time when little was known of what was happening, and we acknowledge the impact on residents and businesses affected by the lock-down and the cordons around the mosques in Riccarton and Linwood;
  • We honour the Imams for their inspiring leadership and for inviting us to attend their Call to Prayer, and we honour the Muslim Community Leadership Group for their dedication and thank all those that have provided cultural advice and ensured decision-making has had the community at its heart;
  • We acknowledge the support provided by the Prime Minister and the Government to our city and to our Muslim communities; and thank them for taking urgent action to strengthen New Zealand’s gun laws; and resolve that the Council will make a submission in support, delegating authority to sign off the submission to the Mayor and Deputy Mayor if necessary; 
  • We call upon the social media platforms to take responsibility for ensuring that such atrocities cannot be live-streamed and that messages of hate cannot be shared.
  • We thank all the Council staff who have built on their existing relationships with our local communities and partner agencies to ensure a well-coordinated response with the community at the heart of all we do, and for their absolute commitment to ensuring our communities jointly lead the recovery process;
  • We thank all those who organised opportunities for different parts of the Christchurch community to gather together, so we could pay our respects in ways that were meaningful to us all;
  • And we thank everyone who has sent tributes, messages of support, offers of help and financial contributions, along with all of those who have attended vigils in cities and towns across New Zealand and around the world.