Brownlee GerryHon GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam): I rise to support the motion that is before the House.There are no more words to be read into the record of this House to express the shock grief despair and anger over the attacks of last Friday and the deep warmth love and care for the families so profoundly affected. An often-asked question in Christchurch is Where were you at 12.51 p.m. on 22 February 2011?" It may well now be "Where were you at 1.45 p.m. on 15 March 2019?" I was moving between constituency appointments in Ilam and initial reports were somewhat sketchy. I must say when I first heard them I thought "That's something that will be rapidly taken care of." but had no concept of how big the event was.So walking along a footpath in Merivale I was surprised when a group of women raced up and asked what I knew about what was going on. Their children had texted them—they were in lockdown in their schools and they were frightened as I'm sure many people in other workplaces that were also in lockdown were not fully knowing what was going on.On Monday of this week I visited 16 schools in my electorate and was surprised to learn just how many families have been directly affected by the events of last Friday—families that have lost grandfathers fathers mothers uncles aunts brothers sisters and close family friends and so many children who have lost their fathers.I want to thank the school staff for the way they handled the lockdown and cared for the children because I also heard some harrowing stories that I really can't repeat in the House this afternoon and know what some of those families are going to have to face. So whatever I can do to help I've offered and I know that whatever MPs in Christchurch and throughout the country can do is on offer. Our doors will be open because the needs of these families are going to be considerable. They are not the only ones affected—the wider community is going to continue to need a lot of support for a longer period of time.If I may for a minute contrast it to the earthquakes where there was a geological event that people could understand. They didn't like it they didn't appreciate it they didn't want it and they wanted a lot of action to flow from it. But in this case no one can understand this. No one can understand that there is a way to stop this particularly or that it could have been stopped and so that threat to people is very alive and in Christchurch City very palpable. I also on that day spoke to a woman whose husband had lost an uncle and a cousin. He's a nurse and he was very quickly back on duty setting aside his own grief and despair because he was needed. And I'm sure that there are many other medical staff and among the first responders people who fit into that category. There's been a lot said about how we've changed. The example of the nurse I mentioned of the first responders and the extraordinary care from communities—the outpouring of grief and expression of love across New Zealand and in our city—tells me that we should not despair too much and that we have not changed that much. But I think we have become more aware of our own actions our own omissions and our own oversights and aware too that they are more pronounced at the more unattractive edge of what is us. We should not engage as I said in self-doubt though but recognise that small change in each of us can make a big difference. I've not extensively engaged with the Muslim community—not through neglect not through any particular reason but more from my strong belief that the freedom in this country to be who you are and to lawfully go about your daily life unimpeded is exactly what everyone should be able to expect. This belief I know will be challenged as the inevitable legislation changes to our security laws and gun laws come before this House. All our security services work within the law which applies to them. They are overseen by an inspector-general but the inspector-general must recognise that the flexibility of black-letter law interpretation is a necessity in an exceptional time like this. To pretend otherwise when we have a high-security alert would be a mistake. In closing on Saturday morning going back to my car close to the hospital I noticed a young man in his 20s accompanied by an older woman. They'd parked and they were walking towards the hospital. Ordinarily you wouldn't think much about that but I became aware that they were very clearly Muslim. So I stopped to say simply sorry. I didn't know what I was going to say. But I think the young man sensed that I was a little emotional. I was emotional when they were clearly going to see if not a close relative then a close friend in the hospital. He said "Don't worry. This is not New Zealand. We are New Zealanders. Don't worry. This is not New Zealand." And I think that also indicates that perhaps we aren't as changed as some might think. I don't know who they were visiting. I don't know what their losses were. But I found it extraordinary that in that moment they chose to offer comfort to me. I hope this Friday Al Noor Mosque which is close to my electorate or the Linwood mosque or the Leacroft Street mosque which is in my electorate will be open for prayer. I don't worship as a Muslim—I'm not a Muslim—but if it's at all possible I will join others on Friday alongside the adherents of the Islamic faith to express the right which the martyrs of Friday the 15th gave their life for."