Motions — United Kingdom—London Attacks

I seek leave to move a motion without notice on the terror attacks in London.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is none.

I move, That this House condemn the terrorist attack in London and extend its condolences to the families and friends of those killed and injured. Our thoughts also go out to New Zealander Oliver Dowling and his family as he recovers in a London hospital. While there is no indication of any other New Zealanders involved, the high commission in London continues to liaise with local authorities.

Terror attacks took place on Saturday night when Londoners were out enjoying themselves. Two attacks occurred: one on London Bridge, one in nearby Borough Market. A white van drove into pedestrians on London Bridge, the van crashed, and the suspects ran to Borough Market and stabbed people in an area crowded with bars and restaurants. This is the third such attack in the UK in recent weeks. In this one, to date, seven people have died and 48 are reported injured—one of course, as we have mentioned, from New Zealand—18 of these remain in a critical condition. Several people are still missing and not yet accounted for, and the three suspects were also shot by police.

Although London is so very far away, it also feels very close and personal to us here in New Zealand. As that initial headline comes up across our TV screens or on our phones, our hearts leap into our throats as we think this could be someone we know—someone we love—who is visiting or living there. It could be someone we know who has been faced with these terrorists. So we stand united with London and condemn these attacks and pledge to continue with the international community in its efforts to combat terrorism.

On behalf of the Labour Party, I rise to support the Government’s motion. Our thoughts and love are with the victims, their families, and all those in London who are dealing with the hurt, anxiety, and fear that these horrific attacks have caused. Wherever in the world terrorist attacks occur, we feel the pain of those involved, and during the last few days, we have seen massive damage in Kabul as well, and we think of those who lost loved ones there, too. For many New Zealanders, they feel this tragedy even more so because we ourselves have been to those very spots around London Bridge and Borough Market, and we have family and friends who live in London. On that note, I want to express to Oliver Dowling and his family our very best wishes for his recovery.

To the people of London and, in particular, their mayor, Sadiq Khan, I want to express our ongoing support. To the emergency services personnel, who once again found themselves in harm’s way: your bravery and courage are remarkable. There were many ordinary people out enjoying a Saturday evening who showed similar courage by standing up to the attackers, and we thank all of them too.

Then there were the symbolic acts of kindness and, frankly, Britishness that happened: the man who returned to the bar on Sunday to pay his bill, and Paul Armstrong, who is now an unlikely hero for his most British approach of taking his half-drunk pint with him as he fled the bar. Having been to some of the bars in Borough Market and paid £5 for a beer, I can tell you that that was an act of pure common sense.

As the UK heads towards its election at the end of the week, now is the time for all of us to stand up for the values of democracy. Our commitment to freedom, fairness, and inclusion must never be broken by terrorism or extremism. We will strengthen all of our communities as we stand united in our support of the people of London, Manchester, and all around the world, and against those who seek to divide us.

Here in New Zealand, we think of all of those affected, including the members and supporters of the British and Irish Lions, who will feel very far from home at this time. And we should also show our support to the Muslim community here in New Zealand, who are as appalled and disgusted by the actions of these terrorists as anyone else. We can defeat these extremists through our unity, our acceptance of diversity, and our resolve to not allow hatred and intolerance to grow. As Sadiq Khan has said today: “Our city is filled with great sorrow and anger tonight but also great resolve and determination because our unity and love will always be stronger than the hate of the extremists.” Here in New Zealand, we express our unity and aroha with all those in London and beyond. Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui.

[Be strong, be steadfast, and be resolute.]

I rise on behalf of the Green Party to express our condolences and our deepest sympathies to those families in London—the communities in London—who have been affected by this attack.

I want to agree with some of the previous sentiments—that there are attacks occurring in many countries around the world every day of the week. And yet, because this one was in London and so many New Zealanders have such deep personal relationships with the United Kingdom, with London, this one feels so much more personal. As someone who lived there for many years and had his first pub lunch at The Barrowboy & Banker, which was attacked that day, it does feel extremely personal that this has happened, even though it is on the other side of the world.

London is, of course, sadly, not unfamiliar with terrorist attacks, going back through much of its history. In the time that I was there, somebody let off three nail bombs in various parts, hoping to drive the Indian community, the African community, and the gay community into the ocean. A second set of bombings occurred—of course, the infamous 7 July bombings in the tube and on buses—and now this. London has always kept going—has stood strong through all of these attacks—but all of them are a tragedy, and this one no less.

So we do offer our deepest sympathies and our condolences to all of those affected—particularly to the family of Oliver Dowling, the New Zealander who was killed there. To the mayor, Sadiq Khan, and to the people of London, we want to say: we are with you. Kia kaha.

New Zealand First joins with others in their sentiments regarding the disastrous outrage in Britain, especially those families affected by this latest atrocity. This includes, as we know, a New Zealander, and our condolences go out to all his family and friends. Our condolences also extend across the Tasman with the events today in Melbourne.

In Britain, this latest Islamic terror attack shows a degree of calculation with the UK general election this week. It becomes nothing less than an attack on democracy, which must not be allowed to succeed. There has also been a tendency to minimise these attacks as being by self-radicalised lone wolves, or to pass them off as being by people who are unhinged. That needs to be completely rethought in the West.

Seventy-seven days on from the last motion in this House, following the murder of five people on Westminster Bridge, what have we seen? Within 7 weeks of that attack, on 3 April, 14 innocents were murdered on the St Petersburg metro by an immigrant jihadist’s suitcase bomb, and just 4 days later another jihadist, in Stockholm, a rejected asylum seeker, used a truck to murder five people, including a child. Then just weeks ago, in Manchester, 22 people—many of them children—were murdered by the nail bomb of the cowardly Salman Abedi. That person, while British-born, was the son of asylum seekers, whose family was given sanctuary in the UK from the rule of Colonel Gaddafi—yet they are a family who maintained close ties, nevertheless, with Libyan jihadists.

What we know about the London Bridge attackers is that two of them arrived in the UK as immigrants. One was known to officials and even TV audiences, so we must ask: how could people plan such terrible deeds but leave their friends, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and spouses completely in the dark? Inevitably, we will be told that the wider community knew nothing, and neither did the friends or the family. How many times have you heard this disavowal? It is washing seriously thin. What is happening is that families, friends, and confidants are choosing to turn the other cheek, choosing silence, rather than turn these monsters in. That may be the culture of Damascus, but it is not ours. It may be acceptable in Tripoli, but it most certainly is not acceptable in New Zealand. While the Islamic community must clean house by turning these monsters in, it starts with their own families.

For New Zealand, we must avoid the same politically correct trap that has allowed such communities apart to form—that is, it is we who must change as a society, they say, to accommodate the cultural practices and traditions of others; that, in some twisted spirit of inclusiveness, it is we who must change, and not them. No longer. We must stop the slide—as a people, as a culture in the West, as people who believe in freedom and liberty, and, indeed, as a country—before we see in this country, in a New Zealand locality, a repeat of these events. If we are to learn from these attacks, we must make it clear that we treasure freedom of expression and the liberty of separate religions and creeds, that that is our system, and that we will do everything, in every part of our system, to defend it.

Hōmai tō poho hei piringa, hōmai tō kiri kia aro atu, hōmai tō kupu kia kōrero, nāu nei au, nāu nei au, nāu nei au! Tū ake tēnei Māngai o Te Pāti Māori ki te tuku i ngā whakaaro me ngā mate, ngā tangi ki ngā mate, rātou kua mate i ngā rangi kua tata atu nei. Kai te tuku i ngā whakaaro ki ō rātau whānau, rātau e tangi, rātau kei raro i te kapua pōuri. Tēnei mātou o Te Pāti Māori e tautokohia nei i ngā kōrero kua kōrerotia.

[Give me your bosom as a haven, give me your self to take heed of, give me your word so that it will speak, I am truly yours three times over. This spokesperson of the Māori Party rises up to express views and the deaths, to shed tears to the dead, those who have died in recent days. I offer thoughts to their families, to them who are grieving and under a dark cloud. We of the Māori Party here endorse the contributions that have been expressed.]

We stand to condemn this act of extremism and terrorism that has again hurt the people of London, the people of England, and, as has been expressed, continues to carry on around the rest of the world. Our thoughts are with the families of those killed and injured, including the family of Oliver Dowling. London acts as a magnet for people from around the globe, and it is no surprise that the victims include those who have made the city their home.

We also honour the bravery of those who put their own safety at risk to save others. The terrorists and extremists who perpetuated this despicable act seek to drive a wedge between communities, but they will not succeed, and now, like many times before in its history, London stands united against a threat.

Over the years, London has endured attack after attack, and each time it bands together regardless of colour, creed, or race. I was heartened when I went to Twitter to see what had happened, to find that somebody had taken a video on their phone of a police officer dancing in a circle with young children on the streets. As the mayor said, Londoners will never be cowed by terrorism. No one anywhere should be cowed by terrorism or extremism. The terrorists will not win. Humanity will win, and love will always overthrow evil. Tēnā koe.

The ACT Party joins with other parties in expressing our sincere condolences to the people of London and the UK—in particular, the family of Oliver Dowling. These events will always lead to pause for reflection, and there have been so many, with seemingly increasing frequency in past months and years and getting increasingly close to New Zealand, both culturally and geographically.

There is going to have to be a wider and more serious debate about when and whether such an event can happen here. It will have to be a debate without naked political opportunism, as we have heard from New Zealand First, but also without the naivety that these events are completely random, that they are not systematic, and that they cannot be detected and prevented. We will need to hear from our Prime Minister and Government about what they are doing to ensure that such things do not happen here.

As I said to the terrorists last time we had such a motion, they will not win, because there are too many of us and we love our freedom and each other far too much. Thank you.

On behalf of United Future, I stand with those in the House this afternoon who have expressed their sympathy to the people of London and, before then, the people of Manchester, for the horrific incidents that have taken place in their cities in recent weeks. No one can condone, whatever the motivation, the activities of those who aimlessly slaughter people in such a way. No one can condone the callous indifference that they show towards their victims. I extend my sympathy to the families of all of those who have lost loved ones in this latest atrocity—particularly, to the family of Oliver Dowling—and let them know that our thoughts are with them at this trying time.

Much will be said, and has already been said, about the causes of and the lessons from these events. We do need to be on guard. We do need to make sure that we do not surrender. But, equally, we need to make sure that we do not surrender to the forces of bigotry and intolerance that will milk these events for every opportunity they can. Our world faces a threat to its stability in a way that it has not known previously. People of good will and good spirit need to come together to work out sensible resolutions to these problems, not revel in the pit of bigotry and intolerance, because all that does is intensify the hatred and give rise to the next event.

We have the privilege, in this country, of geographic distance. We do not, however, have the complacency that that might give rise to in certain circumstances. We need to be vigilant. We also need to be tolerant. I contrast the events of the weekend with something that took place in this Parliament last Thursday evening, when the Muslim community of New Zealand came together to celebrate the start of the month of Ramadan in peace and goodwill and tolerance and openness. We need to be working with people of like mind to achieve positive outcomes, not simply fuelling the fires of bigotry.

Motion agreed to.

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I would like to correct something that I said in those comments before. I misspoke when I said that Oliver Dowling had been killed. I meant to say that he had been stabbed but not killed.

I appreciate that.