Mihi 
As-salumu alaykum, Peace be Upon you
 
May I acknowledge all the dignatories here today.
 
Hon Megan Woods, Hon Jenny Salesa, Hon Peeni Henare
Local Councillors Phil Clearwater, Tim Scandrett and Anne Galloway
Karolin Potter chair of the Community Board and other members who are here.
Imam Gamal Fouda, Masjid Al Noor; Shagaf Khan, President Muslim Association of Canterbury; Dr Mustafa Farouk, President of FIANZ; Sheikh Mohammad Amir, Chief Religious Advisor FIANZ; Representatives of Hillmorton High School and members of the wider community of Hillmorton and Hoon Hay
 
I am here today to speak on behalf of the people of Christchurch to offer our aroha and love to the families of the Shaheed from this area, Husna Ahmed, Tariq Rashid Omar, Matiullah Safi and Abdukadir Elmi.
In coming together to pay tribute to those whose lives were so cruelly taken from their families, we also acknowledge the impact on their local communities, and here today we feel the enormity of the loss, so keenly felt by the Hillmorton and Hoon Hay communities, and I hope that this memorial service contributes to your healing as well.

I have been asked by many people about the response to the events of the 15th March. I have said there were three elements that came together. One was the response of our Prime Minister. The authenticity of her empathy and compassion resonated across the world in everything she said and did. 

The second was the response of the people of Otautahi Christchurch, alongside Te Runanga O Ngai Tahu and Ngai Tuahuriri, who came together in solidarity with their Muslim brothers and sisters under the banner of Ko Tatou Tatou - We are One. This outpouring of love, compassion and kindness was also felt across the world as people of all faith stood side by side with their Muslim communities to stand together as one.

However it was the third element, which, had it been missing, would have made the whole response incomplete.

And that was the response of our Muslim brothers and sisters. We all recall the words of Imam Gamal Fouda ringing out across Hagley Park and reverberating across the world that we have shown that New Zealand is unbreakable. You spoke of love and unity and the determination not to let anyone divide us. You said: ‘We are broken-hearted but we are not broken.’ 

And Farid Ahmed - your words amplified these messages of love and peace. I am reminded that the word for courage comes from the same word for heart, and you spoke with your whole heart in a way that captured the world’s attention.  You spoke of choosing peace and love. However it was the expression of an infinite capacity for forgiveness that comes from a place of true faith that inspired everyone.
The world heard the message that Islam stands for peace. 

And we all heard the message that there is a better way, not only in how we respond to atrocity, but also in how we live our lives every day - as one. In communities like this we can see what that means, as we come together as one.

We do so to pay tribute to those whose lives have been taken from us, and to say to their families, the people of Christchurch will be there for you always.

​Ko Tatou Tatou - We are One.  We commit to make this real every day of our lives, creating a lasting legacy, a tribute, in memory of those so tragically taken from us on 15 March this year.

​​Acknowledge the dignatories: Hon Megan Woods, Hon Nicky Wagner, Crs Jimmy Chen and Anne Galloway.

​And thank you Mike Fowler, Principal Hagley Community College, not only for being our host today, but for all the work the College does to be such a welcoming and supportive environment for all.

More importantly I want to acknowledge you Ahmed Tani. Your unwavering support of refugee communities over many years saw you acknowledged in the New Year’s Honours List. Your resolve could have been tested by the atrocity that occurred on March 15, but there you were leading once more.  Leading with compassion and kindness, and of course with courage.
I found a speech I gave at a Christchurch celebration of World Refugee Day 12 years ago. I said that New Zealand's response to the needs of refugees reminded us that we have the capacity for goodness and kindness in a world that is not always good and not always kind. I said New Zealand's commitment to welcoming refugees is part of our identity as a nation – it illustrates our humanity, our generosity, our sense of justice.
I say that again today. We have seen that in the incredible response to the atrocity that was March 15, where we came together in unity, inspired by the phrase ‘we are one’, and even more inspired by the expressions of peace, love and forgiveness that we heard from our Muslim brothers and sisters.  We remain so proud of our Prime Minister and her leadership, however, for me, it will always be the expression of humanity from our Muslim communities that helped us through one of our darkest of days.
I mention the response to March 15 today, because so many of those worshipping that day in Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre were former refugees.
Refugees flee their homes due to “a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion”. I know many of the stories behind what made people refugees. They are salutary reminders of the cruelty and inhumanity that can be imposed on people.
I have met parents who fled their homes, because they wanted their children to grow up free from fear, to live a good life, not hiding in the shadows, but living lives of purpose – and always giving back.
It hasn’t been perfect for everyone who has sought refuge in New Zealand.  However, for many it was a safe haven – paradise on earth.
I will do everything in my power to reinstate that sense of peace and safety; and not just from those who would commit such atrocity, but also from those, whose prejudging or bias might not allow former refugees and their children to seize the opportunities our city offers to be the best that they can be.
We have just become a refugee resettlement location after an eight year hiatus post-earthquake.  As a council we advocated for that.
I’m told that the first families (21 people from Afghanistan and Eritrea arrived on 1 March) and another 19 in May. One family arrived only yesterday from Eritrea, on World Refugee Day. And I understand they are here today – so welcome, what a special day to arrive. And there is another family coming next week.
On World Refugee Day we are invited to walk in the shoes of refugees – I have talked about the importance of getting to know the stories that lie behind the journey to Christchurch. And the UN is taking steps too, literally. Over the next year, the world is invited to measure their steps. Refugees walk 1 billion miles to safety each year. So the opportunity is there to feel those steps every time you walk, run or cycle: #StepWithRefugees.
Finally can I acknowledge the role of volunteers as we come to the end of National Volunteer Week.  Without our volunteers the refugee resettlement programme would not extist.  I always think of these as first friends for our refugees. And I thank you all on behalf of the city on this special day.
 
 

​I wish to begin by acknowledging Farida Sultana and Shakti for hosting this important conference, and for inviting me to participate. 
I also acknowledge the NZ Minister, Jenny Salesa and Australian Senator, Mehreen Faruqi, Parliamentarians from all sides of our Parliaments, and human rights practitioners on both sides of the Tasman.
I am glad that this is a Trans-Tasman event, as I believe it is essential that we work across borders to tackle issues like racism and discrimination, and to identify what needs to happen to promote active citizenship across all communities regardless of where we are born or what faith we practice.
I committed to today, because I have been questioning myself and others about how we take on these challenges, when racism and discrimination are so insidious and, to someone like me, almost completely invisible…until now.
There is nothing that could have prepared me for what happened on the 15th March this year. I was born and raised in Christchurch; I have lived there all my life. As I have said many times, I still cannot believe that such an atrocity was committed there.
When I speak about this time, I prefer not to talk about what happened on the day, other than to honour the 51 lives that were taken, those who were injured and the countless witnesses to the horror that unfolded at the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre.
I prefer to talk about how we responded. Because it is in the response, that I believe we may have found some of the answers the world is looking for.
As a city and as a nation, we instinctively rejected hatred and said no to division – we embraced each other as one.
And we said to the world: peace, unity, love, compassion and kindness, these are our values – these are who we are. 
That message reverberated across the world, and with it the image of our Prime Minister wearing a scarf – her pain and her compassion visible to all – embracing a Muslim woman. “They are us and we are them” were her words. Peace be upon all of us was the message to the world.
The aftermath of this atrocity could have been different if there had been an angry, hostile and divisive response. But there was nothing of the sort.  And in this regard I must speak of those who spoke for the Muslim communities with such humanity and grace.
When Imam, Gamal Fouda, said at the Call to Prayer a week after the attack: ‘We are broken-hearted, but we are not broken. We are determined to not let anyone divide us’, we were both humbled and inspired.
And at the National Remembrance Service we heard of an infinite capacity to forgive. Farid Ahmed, whose wife was killed at the mosque, said “I want a heart that is full of love and care and full of mercy, and will forgive lavishly, because this heart doesn’t want any more life to be lost”.
And with these expressions of humanity, came a simple truth, this is how to respond to terrorism - not with retribution, but with generosity of mind and spirit, as we build bridges between communities across our cities. 
Reflect on what the Prime Minister said the night this occurred. 
“This is one of New Zealand’s darkest days."
"They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us.
"The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not. They have no place in NZ. There is no place in New Zealand for such acts of extreme and unprecedented acts of violence."
"The people who were the subject of this attack today, New Zealand is their home. They should be safe here. The person who has perpetuated this violent act against them, they have no place in New Zealand society."
The response was instinctive and intuitive. Everything that followed had a firm footing:
- The visit to Christchurch the next day, where she shared the grief of the nation with the local Muslim communities
- Calling out the shooter as a terrorist
- Announcing changes to gun laws and enacting the ban on military-style semi-automatics before the gun lobby could intervene as occurred 27 years ago when the law should have been changed
- Establishing a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the work of our security services prior to the attack
- The Christchurch Call signed off by countries and tech companies - a significant step to the change we need to see in the internet platforms that can instantaneously disseminate extreme violence and hate 
Every step of the way there has been intention. I remember telling one of the reporters that she had real empathy, and steel in her spine. She wasn’t afraid to show her emotion, and she wasn’t afraid to make the hard calls.
This is the kind of leadership the world has been looking for. 
Imagine if this had been the response to 9/11 instead of waging a war on terror. Imagine the kind of world we might be living in today.
I say this because there has been so much that has confronted me since the 15th March. So much I hadn’t noticed about my home town.
The UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, when she came, said much of the west’s perception of Islam and Muslim people since 9/11 has been viewed through the lens of extremism. This has helped promote an unholy war, not founded on faith, but on hatred of ‘others’ - those that are not us. And it has skewed our view of people we may never have even met. The narrative was one of extremism, not of peace.
The opposite of what we heard and saw from our Muslim brothers and sisters in the wake of what happened.
As I delved into what inspired this attack, I started to learn of the dark places on the worldwide web where extreme misogyny, racism, religious intolerance, bigotry and prejudice add fuel to an already corrupt and perverted view of the world that could allow such a monstrosity to occur. 
I remember saying at the time that the shooter was not from here, that his hatred was neither born here nor nurtured here. He came with hate in his heart and with intent to kill already fixed in his mind. 
A nagging set of questions were left hanging, what if he had been born and raised here, could he have formed these extremist views, could he have learned to hate others in this way, could he have found others who would provide him with comfort for his extremism? 
The answer to that question is yes.
When I found myself having to answer questions about white supremacism, overt expressions of racism and religious intolerance within my own city, I was found wanting. I had literally dismissed the skinheads and the pathetic few, who rallied under the NZ National Front banner, as an irrelevance. This was not good enough. I started asking questions. 
The first was about the experience of racism in Christchurch. The obvious was pointed out to me - I’m white - I’m not a minority. I will never experience racism anywhere in New Zealand, in exactly the same way that a man will never experience misogyny. I have no lived experience of racism, and never will. 
I have been told my duty is to ensure that those who do experience racism are able to share their experience and to do so safely, and that voice be given to that experience. We need to shine a light on what is really happening, so we understand what it feels like to experience prejudice. 
I have read the words of some of the participants today whose words have hit a chord. I have heard those same words in Christchurch. There are those who, for whatever reason, cannot speak out. We must stand together so no one stands alone, when they speak truth to power.
I asked another question - should I use the word racism - it might put people’s backs up - can I talk about inclusion and diversity instead.
A Maori woman gently explained why. She said to me that if she didn’t teach her children about racism - that there would be people they would meet who would judge them because of the colour of their skin - then when they experienced racism (as they would) - they wouldn’t know that it wasn’t about them personally, and that it was nothing to do with who they were as a person.
It struck me as incredibly sad that there are parents who have to teach their children to be prepared for racism. No parent would want that for any child.
I have started to use these answers as the basis to start conversations about racism that I never thought I could. I spoke at a Rotary Club the other night and I could see that by inviting them to see the impact of racism through the eyes of an innocent child being prepared by a loving mother for the skin deep assessment they would be judged by, well there is no answer to that. It is dehumanising and through the eyes of a child it is stripped bare, because no one would want that for any child.
It’s often overlooked that Islamaphobia doesn’t mean hatred of Islam and xenophobia doesn’t mean hatred of strangers – phobia means fear. And fear comes from ignorance, and together they fuel prejudice. 
I read somewhere recently that the most multicultural parts of the UK voted to remain in the EU and that the least multicultural parts of the UK voted for Brexit.
People who live, work and play in diverse communities get to know people with a range of backgrounds.
And that’s why promoting active citizenship is so vital. We need to find ways to ensure that we get to know each other better. We learnt that after the earthquakes, and we need to relearn it now.
If people feel isolated and alone, and are not connected to their community - either where they live or a wider community of identity or interest - then it is unlikely that they will participate in activities that make a community. I always use Lyttelton as an example of a fantastically connected community. They have Project Lyttelton, which includes community gardens, a Saturday market and most importantly a Timebank where people value each other’s time hour by hour not dollar by dollar.
Neighbourhood by neighbourhood that’s how we do this. Reaching out to our neighbours and getting to know more about each other.
I have the honour of conducting citizenship ceremonies every month, and I always especially acknowledge those who have given up their citizenship of birth to become NZ citizens. I say: None of you gives up anything of who you are and where you are from. You do not sever your ties with with your country of birth. You bring your language, your culture, your history, your faith and you nurture them in your children. And we here in NZ are enriched by all that you bring, and you have another place to stand and call home. 
I make the point that everyone who lives in Aotearoa New Zealand or their forbears made a journey to make this their home - whether they came by waka, by ship or by plane, each one of us has a story of those journeys, and it is in sharing these stories that we create enduring relationships.
And that’s what builds successful and resilient communities.
I remain very proud of the way our city and nation have responded to this terrorist attack. The bravery and professionalism shown by the Police, emergency services, hospital staff and many others; and the compassion and sense of shared humanity demonstrated by the people of our city, our nation and communities across the world, have shone a light through our darkest of days. 
What happened in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday, March 15, 2019 will never define us. It is the response that says who we are. 
However it is time to reflect on what we want to be in the future. Do we go back to where we were - complacent about racism - or do we boldly step forward?
We have already shown we can be a place that leads social change in the world. I am not wearing my Kate Sheppard broach for nothing.
We can be that again, because there is a better way, and we know it. And it all starts in our neighbourhoods and communities. Governments can set the tone and I fully support the work they are doing, but we need to make it real on the ground. Wellbeing cannot thrive in a racist place - where a mum has to prepare her child for what we must say is unacceptable here. We can and should be the springboard for the change we want to see in the world. And we honour the lives that were lost and shattered on that day when we do.

​




​I put up this word cloud to remind us that resilience doesn’t mean strong – look at the words – flexibility, adaptation, creativity, diversity, community, respect, change, cooperation. It’s all there.
I always refer to the standard definition – the capacity to absorb and maintain system function in the face of catastrophic events – followed by the standard phrase to bounce back or to recover.  
However I have come to understand resilience from a community perspective to mean much more than that.  The opportunity to bounce forward was the first expression I heard used after the earthquake sequence began that introduced the concepts of adapting and growing.  And then the word thrive – opening up the possibility of transformation and co-creation.
That requires trust – both ways – meaning decision-makers have to engage communities in decision-making in a meaningful way - and it requires communities to actively seek to take back responsibility for their futures. And that’s what’s hard.
But as luck has it, you’re always better prepared than you think.

I have read a lot about all aspects of disaster risk reduction since the first earthquake struck Christchurch on 4 September 2010. One was a book by Judith Rodin called The Resilience Dividend. She ended the book with this powerful statement:
“There is no ultimate or end state of resilience.”
Again this is my point of resilience being a journey and not a destination. Judith goes on to say:  
“But, by working together to build resilience to the greatest degree possible, we can reduce our reliance on crisis as a driver of change and, instead, deliberately take the future into our own hands – for the well-being of our families, our communities, our cities, and indeed, the planet we all share.”
Isn’t that a hopeful and challenging way to end this presentation?  
No-one needs to wait for a crisis to do that if we truly learn the lessons of the Christchurch experience and that’s why I will continue to talk about the resilience journey whenever I can, and the importance of always placing the community at the heart of all that we do.

​

​Kia ora koutoa katoa, I’d like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today. I would also like to pay my respects to elders past and present.

Can I also acknowledge Dr Clifford Perera and the severity of the loss and trauma that was inflicted on Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.  When I sent our city’s condolences to the Mayors of the three cities where the attacks took place, I said that none of these attacks was inspired by the faith that took Christchurch Muslim communities to their places of worship on 15 March this year, nor the Christian communities to their places of worship on Easter Sunday. It had nothing to do with religion or faith.

The attacks were inspired by extremism and were fuelled by a hatred that was designed to divide and to cause others to use this as an excuse to cause further violence and inflict more pain. 

I admitted in those letters as I do now, that I don’t have all the answers. But I do thank the Congress organisers for the opportunity to talk to you this evening, not about what happened, but how we responded. Because it is in the response, that I believe we may have found some of the answers the world is looking for.

There is nothing that could have prepared me for the atrocity that was perpetrated in our city of Christchurch on March 15 this year.  

We have had our share of challenges – earthquakes, floods and fire. Never in my wildest imagination could I have conjured up the images of any terrorist shooting, let alone a cruel and cowardly attack on our Muslim communities in their places of worship at their time of prayer.

Nothing had prepared me either for the sheer hatred that inspired this attack, nor then to learn of the dark places on the worldwide web where extreme misogyny, racism, religious intolerance, bigotry and prejudice add fuel to an already corrupt and perverted view of the world that could allow such a monstrosity to occur.

Nothing had prepared me to respond to claims about the impact of white supremacism, overt expressions of racism and religious intolerance within my own city. We now know where this ends.

Nothing had prepared me for the malicious and fictitious claims and counterclaims of retaliation.

Nothing prepared me for the realisation that there is an intention that sits behind these extreme acts.

No matter who the victims are – the intention is to create division – and to inspire further acts of violence. 

As a city and as a nation, we have instinctively rejected hatred and said no to division – we embraced our Muslim brothers and sisters as one.

And we said to the world: peace, unity and love, compassion and kindness, these are our values – these are who we are.

That message reverberated across the world, and with it the image of our Prime Minister wearing a scarf – her pain and her compassion visible to all – embracing a Muslim woman.  “They are us and we are them” were her words. Peace be upon all of us was the message to the world.

The aftermath of the event could have been different, if there had been an angry, hostile and divisive response. But there was nothing of the sort. 

And in this regard I must speak to the role of those who spoke for the Muslim communities with such resolve and grace.  We heard an infinite capacity for forgiveness, which was so eloquently expressed at the National Remembrance Service by Farid Ahmed, whose wife was killed at Al Noor Mosque.

“I don’t want to have a heart that is boiling like a volcano. A volcano has anger, fury, rage, it doesn’t have peace. It has hatred, it burns itself within, and it burns the surrounding. I don’t want to have a heart like this and I believe no one does. I want a heart that is full of love and care and full of mercy, and will forgive lavishly, because this heart doesn’t want any more life to be lost. This heart doesn’t like that the pain I have gone through, that any human being should go through. That’s why I have chosen peace, love and I have forgiven.”

When Imam, Gamal Fouda, said at the Call to Prayer a week after the attack: "We are broken-hearted, but we are not broken. We are determined to not let anyone divide us," we were humbled and inspired.

And with these expressions of humanity, the message has gone out around the world that this is how to respond to terrorism - not with retribution, but with generosity of mind and spirit, as we build bridges between communities and across cities and the world. 

In terms of the local response, the Council and local Maori, Te Runanga O Ngai Tahu, worked together in partnership with the Muslim community leadership team. 

The warmth and strength of the relationship that developed between Muslim and Maori was immediately evident as they found much in each other’s culture and beliefs to both offer and receive comfort and support.

Local agencies were able to rely on pre-existing working relationships and friendships to collaborate in a positive way. 

As this is a WADEM conference I will mention the Emergency Medicine response in particular. The message is this: the response by clinical and associated staff in the 800 bed Christchurch Hospital was nothing short of extraordinary.

There were fifty people killed that day. Close to that number again were injured in the shootings and were treated at Christchurch Hospital. One patient died in the emergency department that day, and another sadly died last week, bringing the death toll to 51 martyrs. The extraordinary fact though remains, that once admitted, no other patient died, despite the horrific injuries that had been caused by hollow point ammunition.

The Christchurch mass casualty plan was well practiced, both in terms of exercises and also from other events the city has faced, such as the earthquakes. In this case, however, the range of trauma was greater than the earthquake, and involved a much wider range of surgical and other specialties.

Over 75 operations were performed, with 8800 minutes of theatre time, (over six days of continuous operating), in total. Patients spent 2271 hours in intensive care which coped by using beds in satellite wards staffed by extra ICU technicians. The high number of child casualties was particularly emotionally draining for clinical staff.

A key part of the response was the radiology department, which not only had hundreds of investigations to perform on the injured, but also carried out CT scans on the deceased. This later difficult piece of work was critical in enabling post-mortems to be carried out quickly and efficiently, enabling victims to buried as quickly as possible.

The third key component of the health response was assisting the relatives, their families and the wider community in the immediate aftermath of the event.
Social workers and specialist mental health staff provided a wrap-around package for each of the patients and families, and schools-based mental health team worked with local schools most affected by the attack. 

There is a lot more I could include about the public health component, including gun control.  New Zealand’s previous poor performance in tackling this issue was one of the very reasons this attack could occur with such devastating effect.

However, this was quickly and resolutely dealt with by Parliament, which recognised that any delay would play into the hands of the gun lobby as it did 27 years ago. These military style semi-automatics are now banned.
I want to conclude with a consideration of the challenges that remain, beyond the ongoing support for the victims’ families, the injured survivors and the witnesses.

As I have said, I have become much more aware of the profound impact of anti-Muslim sentiment, religious intolerance and other forms of hate motivated speech both online and on our streets. If we are to remain united, we need to stand up for and celebrate diversity, and we need to be the place where all are treated with decency and respect no matter who we are, where we were born or what our beliefs are.

We need to initiate courageous conversations about those things that stand in our way – I have reminded people that Islamaphobia doesn’t mean hatred of Islam – phobia means fear. And fear comes from ignorance. Knowledge and understanding are the only real antidotes for ignorance and fear. We need to find ways to ensure that we get to know each other better. We learnt that after the earthquakes – love thy neighbour is good, but getting to know him and her is a great start.

I remain very proud of the way our city and nation have responded to this terrorist attack. The bravery and professionalism shown by the Police, emergency services, hospital staff and many others; and the compassion and sense of shared humanity demonstrated by the people of our city, our nation and communities across the world, have shone light through our darkest of days. 

What happened in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday, March 15, 2019 will never define us. It is the response - the love, compassion and kindness - that says who we are. We do not stand alone; we stand together – as one.
Imagine, for a moment if you will, if that had been the response after 9/11.

christchurch-terror-attack-a-highlight-of-surgeons-career

The Hon. Ron Mark, Minister of Defence and Minister for Veterans
Hon Dr Megan Woods, 
MPs Dr Duncan Webb, Poto Williams, Jo Hayes, Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi
Chief of Army – Major General John Boswell, and members of the defence forces
Police Commissioner Mike Bush and the NZ police 
Deputy High Commissioner of Australia, Mr Andrew Cumpston
Crs Yani Johanson, Anne Galloway and Glenn Livingstone
The President and Members of the Christchurch Memorial RSA
Veterans and former servicemen/women
Citizens of Christchurch gathered here this morning
 
Welcome everyone to this year’s ANZAC day dawn service.
 
ANZAC Day is a day that we come together and reflect on the enormity of the sacrifice that was made over a century ago. 
 
When we think of that war to end all wars as it was hoped to be, and think of the numbers killed, we are reminded again of the senselessness of war.
 
With the recent atrocity perpetrated on our city, we have all been given reason to pause and reflect on our history, and the need to find peaceful resolution to conflict - whether in our homes, our cities or nations.
 
It is extraordinary that modern day Turkey has found a way to allow us - Australians and New Zealanders - to acknowledge the emergence of our own sense of nationhood in ANZAC ceremonies every year on a former battleground now dedicated as a place of peace.
 
And today the flag of Turkey connects us to Gallipoli in a very special way.
 
The Gallipoli campaign may have represented defeat, and the toll that was exacted on both sides too high a price to pay, but it was on that peninsula that the ANZAC tradition of courage, sacrifice and comradeship was forged and it is this that we recall and honour today with our commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflict wherever it occurs.
 
No reira tena koutou, tena toutou, tena ra tatou katoa

The Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence and Minister for Veterans
Major General John Boswell, Chief of Army
Mr Allen Cumpston, Deputy High Commissioner of Australia
Members of Parliament
My council colleagues
Veterans, servicemen and women, past and present
The Christchurch Cadet Corps, and St John Cadets
Representatives of the Girls and Boys Brigades
Citizens of Christchurch gathered here today
 
On behalf of the city of Christchurch, it is a privilege to welcome you to this ANZAC day citizens service.
 
Thank you to the Very Reverend Lawrence Kimberly, Dean of ChristChurch Cathedral, for welcoming us to this special place.
 
Forged on a distant battlefield, the relationship between Australia and New Zealand, what we call the ANZAC spirit, lives on today. Courage, loyalty, selflessness, honour, sacrifice and comradeship are our shares values.
 
More than a century on, our peacekeepers overseas embody the same ANZAC spirit, as do our young cadets, including our St John volunteers present today. 
 
Every town and city in New Zealand has a memorial that honours those who never came home.
 
As I have said before on these occasions, we do not glorify war with these memorials, we commemorate the lives that were lost, and we honour the values they fought for.
 
Today, this morning, we are gathered here to remember all those who have served their country, and all those serving today.
 
And as I said this morning, with the recent atrocity perpetrated on our city, we have all been given reason to pause and reflect on our history, and the need to find peaceful resolution to conflict - whether in our homes, our cities or nations.
 
It is extraordinary that modern day Turkey has found a way to allow us - Australians and New Zealanders - to acknowledge the emergence of our own sense of nationhood in ANZAC ceremonies every year on a former battleground now dedicated as a place of peace.
 
And today the flag of Turkey connected us to Gallipoli in a very special way.
 
The Gallipoli campaign may have represented defeat, and the toll that was exacted on both sides too high a price to pay, but it was on that peninsula that the ANZAC tradition was forged and it is this that we recall and honour today with our commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflict wherever it occurs.
 

​Dr Mohammed Alayyan, Dr Maysoon Salama - we acknowledge your loss 
Al Noor Charitable Trust Board members, staff of the An Nur Child Care Centre, families and friends
 
Kia ora koutou katoa
As-salum Alaykum
Peace be upon you
 
Thank you for the opportunity to visit here today and play a small role as you once again create a safe environment for the children to explore their world in preparation for their lives ahead. Thank you for your passion and your commitment to the children and their families.
 
I acknowledge with sadness the loss that has been felt here. We feel your pain as our pain and we stand with you.
 
When I read your invitation I was moved. You told me that you were holding this official reopening of the centre after the worst mosque terror attacks to show the community that ‘we are resilient in the face of such horrific events, to show the world we are not defeated by this worst terror attack and we will carry on’. 
 
These words are powerful indeed - they do not deny the atrocity that has occurred - however they reclaim the power that he tried to steal from us with the lives that were so cruelly taken. An act that was designed to divide us, has in fact united us. 
 
And it the extraordinary outpouring of love, compassion and kindness, Along with the infinite capacity for forgiveness and humanity expressed by our Muslim Communities has been the message that has been heard across the world.
 
These are who we are as a city and a nation, and no one can taken them from us. 
 
An Nur Child Care Centre has been a special place for nearly 20 years. It provides a place for young mums to come together and share the joys and challenges of raising their children, offering and receiving advice from each other. The Maori word for teaching and learning is the same. Ako is to teach and Ako is to learn. We teach as we learn and vice versa.  It takes a village to raise a child and that’s what is happening here. 
 
Congratulations on this reopening and thank you for all that you do.

​Venerable Abbess Manshin, President Bernie Siew, MPs Hon Nicky Wagner, Poto Williams and Dr Duncan Webb, Community Board Members, Helen Broughton & Aaron Campbell, and Consul General Wang, members of the interfaith community, especially Imam Ibrahim - As-salāmu ʿalaykum - we understand why it was hard to come - thank you for coming and opening your heart to us today - we feel your pain and we will walk with you and our Muslim brothers and sisters for as long as it takes.
 
Thank you to the Buddhist Light International Association SI and Fo Guang Shan for the invitation to join you again today for a ceremony that is deeply meaningful in light of the events of the 15th March and the weeks that have followed.
 
I have said that we will not be defined by what happened on that day; we are defined as a city and a nation by the outpouring of grief, love, compassion and kindness that followed. 
 
And together we have stood in awe of the capacity for forgiveness and love expressed by those who have lost the most. We have been humbled and inspired.
 
And look how that has echoed across the world. Peace has triumphed over violence, unity has triumphed over division and love has triumphed over hate. 
 
And as you do every year, you have invited us to celebrate compassion, the joy of giving, peace and love in the context of the anniversary of the birth of Buddha, represented as it is by the shared values that underpin all faiths as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 
 
Your prayer today asked us to be respectful of each other regardless of race, creed or colour. We can commit to that in our hearts and minds and we can live that every day
 
Thank you for opening your doors to us all, and for making those values real in your deeds.