Ministry Statements & Speeches:
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e rau rangatira mā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa.
[All peoples of the world, all speakers, all the chiefly peoples here, all groups. Greetings to all gathered here.]
Much of Aotearoa New Zealand’s work in countering terrorism and violent extremism is informed by our experience at home – most notably, the terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain on 15 March 2019. It was in the wake of that tragic event that New Zealand and France launched the Christchurch Call to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, a multi-stakeholder initiative of governments, tech companies and civil society.
At home in New Zealand, the Government launched a Royal Commission of Inquiry – the highest investigative body in our nation. The Inquiry into the attack made 44 sweeping recommendations, covering national security and wider social and community matters. All 44 were accepted, in principle, by the New Zealand Government.
These recommendations specifically highlighted the need to ensure that diverse voices, including those of civil society, would play a key role in New Zealand’s response. Not just through consultation – but in the development, implementation and ongoing review of the initiatives and policy tools that would take us forward.
In my brief remarks here, I want to highlight one specific example. The Royal Commission recommended that the Government create a public facing strategy for preventing, detecting and responding to threats of violent extremism and terrorism. It recommended that this framework be developed in collaboration with communities, civil society, local government and the private sector, noting that each one should have a defined role and responsibility for implementation, and be involved in a review process to take place every three years.
And so, our Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet convened a working group to lead the development of this PCVE Strategic Framework. The group has two co-leads; one from government, and one from civil society. The group comprises around 30 people in total, around one third of whom are from government, with the rest from academia, independent researchers, community and civil society.
Importantly, New Zealand's Human Rights Commission has played a significant role in the working group – producing a report to help guide the development of the framework. New Zealand’s Chief Human Rights Commissioner and Race Relations Commissioner were also directly involved in the group’s work.
It’s important to acknowledge that the group isn’t ‘representative’ – it doesn’t include a member of every community we know is at risk of being the victim of violent extremism. Rather, it’s a group of people we know are experts in this field, and who are focused on contributing in a proactive manner to New Zealand’s work on preventing and countering violent extremism.
Officials also undertook extensive engagement with the wider public, right across the country, and online. They spoke to around 400 members of the public over four months, aiming to reach a broad suite of New Zealanders, including those who are often hesitant to speak to government about the violence they’re facing. This was an opportunity for government officials to be held to account by the public, and to provide space for them to outline exactly what they want us to do differently to keep them safe.
And it’s fair to say that the strategic framework, while yet to be released publicly, will be stronger as a result.
Earlier, I mentioned the need for civil society and others to be included in the implementation of our work. One mechanism for this is a PCVE Strategic Fund which, over three years, will provide grants to civil society and community organisations. These grants will support them to deliver initiatives for building resilience to violent extremism and radicalisation.
Finally, I would like to mention two other important initiatives through which we’ve sought to build a mature public conversation about terrorism, and incorporate the voices of civil society and other stakeholders.
The first is an annual national public hui (or meeting) called He Whenua Taurikura (a country at peace). So far New Zealand has hosted two annual hui, in June 2021 and November 2022, led by the Prime Minister and Senior Government Ministers. Each hui saw 350 attendees come together for two days – roughly one third public, one third academia, and one third government. Media were invited and most sessions livestreamed with sign language to enable widespread participation.
These hui included formal speeches, opportunities for open discussion, and exercises in which members of the public and government officials worked together through a violent extremism scenario. Attendees were invited to ask questions about government actions at each stage.
The second initiative, also named He Whenua Taurikura, is a National Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism. The Centre, established independently of government, is led by two co-directors, both leading academics, and has so far awarded two rounds of post-graduate scholarships. The Centre brings together research organisations and institutes, civil society organisations, and government to research PCVE, with a focus on understanding diversity and promoting social cohesion. This New Zealand-specific research will play an essential role to inform our national approaches going forward.
Aotearoa New Zealand recognises that our work to prevent and counter violent extremism is an ongoing and iterative journey – one that involves all parts of society. To that end, supporting and enabling civil society led discussion and activity, will remain an important focus for us.
Thank you.