New Zealand currently has one intelligence agency that focuses on domestic threats and one that focuses on international threats
A police officer stands guard in front of the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. Pic/AP
There were no clear signs that an attack last year on two New Zealand mosques was imminent, but police should have done a better job vetting the lone gunman when he applied for a gun license, and intelligence agencies should have focused more on threats such as white supremacism, according to a new report.
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Among 44 recommendations, the report released on Tuesday says the government should establish a new national intelligence agency. The report details how the attacker, white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, was able to live a solitary, almost ghostlike existence by relying on an inheritance that was fast dwindling when he killed 51 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry report runs nearly 800 pages. It says that New Zealand's intelligence agencies were far too focused on the threat posed by Islamic extremism at the expense of other threats including white supremacism. It found that despite the shortcomings of various agencies, Tarrant hadn't told anybody about his plans or left any clues — until he emailed out his manifesto just eight minutes before he began shooting, which came too late for agencies to respond.
New Zealand currently has one intelligence agency that focuses on domestic threats and one that focuses on international threats. Often they are focused on immediate events such as keeping visiting dignitaries safe. New Zealand's liberal prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said the government has agreed to implement all of the recommendations and apologised for agency shortcomings.
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