CHRISTCHURCH
Interview: Call out extremist behaviour, define underpinning values Dr Richard Shortt, former Combined Threat Assessment Group manager (New Zealand Police/NZSIS) and national security policy advisor (DPMC), suggests the need for a circumspect response to extremism. NZSM: There are reports that the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings had come to New Zealand for training and attack preparation. Is there a likelihood that New Zealand is harbouring terror support and training networks? RS: New Zealand, as a liberal, western democracy has the potential to be misused in this way. We need only look back in the past decade to see at least one other occasion where NZ Police felt there was ‘training’ taking place and that people harboured unacceptable views, some would argue extreme views. There was an outcry when this became public, rightly for the way the operation was handled in my view, but underlying it was a sinister commentary that was dismissed by some at the time as ‘that does not happen here’. I am
Dr Richard Shortt
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NZSM
confident that New Zealand Police and NZSIS are constantly alert to the possibility (however remote) of support and training networks (or groups) and if information is supplied to either agency about such activity by concerned citizens it will be looked at appropriately. I am confident that extremism, of whatever ideological background, is of concern to New Zealand’s security agencies. We have watched with interest the right wing activities overseas. Before 9/11 right-wing extremism and extreme nationalism was the primary threat in the US for law enforcement. Unfortunately, in more recent years we have seen this scourge spread further afield. Extremism is the threat. NZSM: In the wake of the attack, gun control has been raised as an area that needs tightening. Do you agree? To what extent can tighter gun control legislation have an impact given the existence of illegal avenues for the sourcing of weapons RS: Guns in the wrong hands are a lethal mix. No amount of legislation will remove all of the risk associated with the presence and legitimate use of firearms in society. However, like the shootings at Aromoana, these recent tragic events present a further opportunity to review the legislation in New Zealand and to determine if it still adequately balances access to firearms by sporting and recreational users and the ability to keep society safe from those who would seek to
use firearms for evil. The types of firearms available, the capacity of magazines, the sale of ammunition and the vetting of licence holders (both when applying for a licence and during the life of the licence) will all no doubt be looked at. NZSM: Online forums providing outlets for extremist ideologies and hate speech appear to play a role in attacks such as this. What possible mechanisms do the New Zealand government have in terms of enhanced monitoring and controls? RS: I am confident that both Police and NZSIS are aware of the online sites involved and seek, within the law as it stands, to monitor their use. They provide an opportunity to identify individuals of security concern through the ‘telescoping’ of a person’s extreme views and possibly their intentions and capabilities. But, saying things online may not be sufficient to put a person into a security case file and to warrant resources to further check on them, or to surveil their activity. The bar for that is high, as it should be. I am sure questions will be asked about how effective our current monitoring of social media is, and whether the current legislative arrangements permit appropriate oversight by security agencies. NZSM: Is the New Zealand Police and intelligence agencies adequately resourced and structured to focus on the identification and monitoring of fixated persons?
April/May 2019
