NZ declares top-level inquiry into massacre

NEW Zealand’s prime minister has announced a top-level inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the massacre of 50 people in two Christchurch mosques.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the country’s highest form of investigation, a royal commission of inquiry, was appropriate for “matters of the gravest public importance”.

Her Cabinet had previously agreed on holding an inquiry, but had not decided what kind of investigation would be held.

She said the Cabinet agreed yesterday that a royal commission “will look at what could or should have been done to prevent the attack“.

An Australian white supremacist, Brenton Tarrant, has been charged with murder following the March 15 attacks.

New Zealand is also debating the limits of free speech after their chief censor banned the 74-page manifesto written and released by Tarrant.

The ban, issued on Saturday, means anybody caught with the document on their computer could face up to 10 years in prison, while anyone caught sending it could face 14 years. Some say the ban goes too far and risks lending both the document and the gunman mystique.