From Hijackings to Right-Wing Extremism: The Drivers of New Zealand’s Counter-terrorism Legislation 1977 – 2020

Abstract

New Zealand is currently faced with the need to address extensive recommendations from the recently completed report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on the Christchurch masjidain on 15 March 2019 (RCOI). The RCOI was not tasked with reviewing New Zealand’s terrorism legislation, but it has commented among its recommendations on the need for relevant national security legislation that is fit-for-purpose and empowers and resources security services appropriately. This paper outlines New Zealand’s counter terrorism legislative chronology, exposing historic themes of slow law making, political disinterest and reactive and incomplete solutions. If New Zealand is to address the RCOI recommendations, it will need to break with previous approaches to legislating terrorism and boldly pursue a new more proactive narrative.