When I chose to leave full-time radio a year after the Christchurch quakes, I never imagined I’d be back on-air as a hometown terror attack horrifically unfolded. I was filling in on the Drive Show, on that fateful March Day.  And when I reflect on that afternoon, I remember the numbness. How I had to park up my state of shock, revulsion and immense distress as sirens screamed so loud all over the city. I just had to get on with the job, breaking the news and sharing the story, warts and all. I had family all over the city, paralysed by fear and in forced lockdown – like at the Court House,  where initially it was feared a bomb had been laid.
So today we hear from the Royal Commission. It’s a sure bet a plethora of agencies will be on the mat. Customs for not noticing his peculiar travels. The police over their alleged mishandling of his gun licence application. And the failure of our spooks to detect or act on his brand of violent extremist tendencies.
Post 9/11, the proliferation of radical Islamic terrorism warranted enormous scrutiny. But our security services must not soft-peddle on other twisted ideologies. Violent White supremacism.
The likes of Phillip Arps, an unrepentant hate-mongerer, can no longer be considered just a wayward, harmless rooster. The net must be cast wide.
But similarly, in the great rush to respond and act on the Royal Commission’s findings, let’s not lose our heads or sacrifice our principles, in the great stampede to be seen to be doing something. Exhibit A, Free speech.
Let’s not conflate edgy, sharp or obnoxious opinions with hateful abuse that incites violence. Widening the definition of hate speech and codifying such speech as a hate crime is a recipe for over-reach. The Crimes Act is already well-equipped to deal to the freaks and fire-breathers who foment or threaten violence.
But we gear up for a period of national reflection and self-flagellation, one fundamental truth stands out.  March fifteen was not a case of homegrown terror. Brendon Tarrant wasn’t one of us. We were all invaded, in a bid to rip our cohesive society apart.
He demonstrably failed. Al-Salam Alaikum.