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Ngāi Tahu leaders are helping to support the families of Christchurch shooting victims and relieve tensions as they wait for the bodies of their loved ones to be returned for burial.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush this morning said more than half the bodies should be returned by the end of today, but it was essential both that the victims were correctly identified and that the cause of death was established by a coroner to the standard needed for a murder trial.
Ngāi Tahu chief operating officer Julian Wilcox says Ngāi Tahu was asked to go yesterday to the centre where families have gathered, where the situation was tense.
"And I think they are really appreciative of the fact Ngāi Tahu was there. I think they appreciate hearing directly from a leader in Ngāi Tahu, Dr Te Maire Tau, addressing the family members themselves and Ngāi Tahu making themselves available," he says.
Ngāi Tahu and the wider Ōtautahi Māori community is also looking at what ongoing support the victims' families and community will need in the days and weeks ahead.
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