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September 06, 2021
Māori at risk in terror attack crackdown
Ellyce McLeod
Posted On September 6, 2021
Download AudioGreens co-leader Marama Davidson is wary of rushing through anti-terrorism legislation in the wake of Fridays attack in New Lynn.
Police shot dead a 32 year old man after he stabbed seven people after grabbing a knife in the Lynn Mall Countdown supermarket.
His family said the man, who came from Sri Lanka in 2011 as a student and then sought refugee status, had been radicalised by neighbours into becoming a supporter of Islamic State.
Ms Davidson says it should be treated as the action of one person and not be used as an excuse for racism and xenophobia against refugees.
She says the legislation now before a select committee would not have prevented the attack, and it still needs proper scrutiny.
“Rushing through legislation may not be the answer because we are still reeling from (the) Tūhoe (raids), we are still reeling from Māori being over surveilled for generations if not centuries so this is why as tangata whenua we need to be really mindful at who gets over-surveilled it has been brown people, it has been indigenous people, it has been Māori, it has been environmentalists, Ms Davidson says.
She has asked for a caucus briefing on the issues by the Greens justice, human rights and refugees spokesperson, Golriz Ghahraman.
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