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The right honourable prime minister. Mr. Speaker, I seek leave to move a motion without notice to express sympathy with the victims of the Orlando Shooting. Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is none. The right honourable Prime Minister. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House expressed sympathy with the victims of the Orlando shooting. This is a shocking atrocity. And on behalf of all New Zealanders, I'd like to express our country's sincere condolences to those uh, affected by it. As I said yesterday, no innocent person [00:00:30] should have to worry about such violence when going about their daily lives or be persecuted for their belief, uh, beliefs or because of who they are. The evening vigils that took place in Auckland, Wellington and elsewhere. We were a tangible demonstration of the depth of people's very real feelings at the scale of this atrocity. Over the days and weeks ahead, we will learn more about the motivations behind the senseless tragedy. But right now there are many people grieving the victims, families and friends in the gay and lesbian community [00:01:00] in Florida and around the world. All too often we see these hateful attacks and mass shootings. Taking the lives of innocent victims. New Zealand stands with the United States and other countries in the fight against violent extremism. Yesterday I wrote to President Obama to express condolences on behalf of all New Zealanders. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and friends and to those who responded to this tragic attack. And we wish those injured in a speedy recovery. The [00:01:30] question is the motion be agreed to Mr Speaker, Andrew Little, Mr Speaker, the Labour Party joins with the government in expressing our horror at this atrocity and our love and sympathy are with the victims and their families. Our thoughts are with the people of Orlando and the United States as well as their representatives here in New Zealand. Mr. Speaker, this was an atrocious and hateful act. It was an act of terror. It was also an act of hate. It was a targeted attack at the LGBTI community. [00:02:00] It was the deliberate mass murder of LGBTI people because of who they were and who they loved. These young people were attacked and murdered in a place that was meant to be safe for them. There was meant to be a haven where they could go to dance and have fun and be themselves. This was a place where they wouldn't be subject to homophobia or violence or hatred. And in that place, [00:02:30] in that sanctuary, they were murdered in cold blood. Mr. Speaker, like millions of people around the world, we've all seen the heartbreaking details of what emerged about the shooting, the stories of first responders arriving at the scene to a chorus of ringing cell phones as the families of those hurt and killed desperately tried to contact their loved ones. The story of Eddie Justice, who was able to hide in the bathroom [00:03:00] of the nightclub long enough to send his mother a text telling her he loved her and whose mother then had to read the horrifying words he's coming. I'm gonna die, Mr Speaker. This attack has broken hearts around the world. But while we mourn and grieve, we must also rededicate ourselves to the great universal values of humanity which attacks like this seek to deny and destroy [00:03:30] inclusion, openness, respect, love. We must reaffirm our commitment to a society where everyone is free to love who they choose worship how they choose and to be themselves without fear of violence or repression. We must reaffirm our commitment to ending bigotry and intolerance and hatred wherever we find it, because that's what the path of true [00:04:00] freedom demands. While we grieve and we mourn, we remind ourselves that love is love and love is stronger than hate and that together we will not let hate win. Kevin Haig, Mr Speaker, I rise to support the prime minister's motion and to thank him for it. The Green Party wishes to express our profound shock and [00:04:30] sorrow at what has occurred and our sympathies to the victims themselves, to their families, to their friends and to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities in Orlando and around the world. An attack against one of us is an attack against all of us. I want to name this as an act of homophobic violence for those of us who are [00:05:00] in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities. We know that just below the level of taunts and name calling and subtle prejudice, there is an undercurrent of violence in this particular case in Orlando. America's absurd gun laws have been a unique enabler for the mass murder that has occurred. But New Zealand [00:05:30] has a history of homophobic violence also, sir. And one thinks, for example, of Jeff Whittington, who just over 17 years ago was murdered in this town. Mr. Speaker, it should not be that when I am my partner or any from our communities is out in public that we should have to check who is around before we kiss or hold hands. And [00:06:00] yet, sir, it is so, Mr Speaker, at this time I want to ask everyone in this house and everyone listening to this debate now to pay particular attention to the needs of young and vulnerable members of our communities. For older members of the gay community, for example, like me, we have the privilege of being able to choose whom we associate with. We have [00:06:30] the relative privilege of being able to make ourselves as safe as we can be. But a younger person does not have that privilege, sir. They are particularly vulnerable. They need our support and they need our love right now. Mr Speaker, I want to extend a hand of friendship and of love to Muslim communities around the world. Also, sir, we understand that what this man did [00:07:00] is not representative of your communities. And we seek relationships that are based on peace and mutual respect. But, Mr Mr Speaker, a belief that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people are not entitled to what we call universal human rights or worse, a belief that we deserve death [00:07:30] for being who we are cannot be allowed to stand in the world, sir. And in closing, sir, the Green Party. And I hope this house commit ourselves to act against homophobia and homophobic violence. And indeed, transphobic violence wherever it occurs in the world. And we seek to be a constant voice in the world [00:08:00] for the universal respect for basic human rights. Thank you, sir. Bigger. The right Honourable Winston Peters. Mr. Speaker, New Zealand first tenders, uh, tenders. Our condolences, sympathy, deep concern and regret to the people of Orlando and the USA at this latest terrorist massacre. We in New Zealand first are opposed to religious extremism in any form. And this atrocity [00:08:30] resulted from Islamic extremism by a terrorist whose family had sought shelter in the United States. There are those who will take the politically correct view and blame it all on a lack of gun control. They are wrong. They have been misled. They are seeking to divert blame from where it should lie, because this terrorist could have used any weapon of destruction. A bomb, an improvised device, [00:09:00] a method of mass poisoning and blaming lack of gun control is seen this way, in our view, simply as a cop out in the San Bernardino case last year are two extremists gave their baby to someone to look after and set out to cause a massacre, and when they were discovered or their home was discovered, improvised explosive devices were present as well. Now we have New Zealand cases as well [00:09:30] of loose border and security controls. Do people remember the hijacking of a plane out of ham by someone that a political party said should not be here? Or the fact that we couldn't find a, uh, henchman of Saddam Hussein? And when immigration did, they found a diplomat who had no connection with him at all, and when it was all over, it was found that he should not have been here in the first place, and there are countless examples now where borders control control [00:10:00] officers are making a judgement and having it overruled by others on the basis that they are safe. In short, sir, we are inviting that problem in our country by the looseness and the cavalry attitude we are taking as a country to matters of security. And you, this is not crap. It is a fact, and those who would defend what's going on here without knowing who they've brought here now they're brought here will one day be weeping crocodile tears, [00:10:30] pretending that they sought to take action with the greatest respect. One of the reasons that we are appealing in New Zealand first to the moderate Muslims is this that throughout the Western world there are extremists of every religion. We don't distinguish who they might be. But our appeal to the moderate Muslim people in this country is, and any other country is that the joint security of the country in which you exist or live [00:11:00] is dependent on us all alerting the authorities. That's the least we could expect. And and as for signing a declaration of values with the greatest respect, if you're going to only apply to refugees, and not to everyone who seeks to come here. Then you engage in a puppy whistle without any real concern. Real concern to the consequences. Lastly, there are members here who will say that they are concerned. And yet, when put [00:11:30] to the test as to the level of upgrade of our security raising the bar of bar of our finding out who is here, they have simply been found wanting. If it is crap you want to talk about, sir, that is your specialty Speaker the Honourable. Your ma [00:12:00] [00:12:30] [00:13:00] night. They work. Go. [00:13:30] No! Oh, my, [00:14:00] I on Mr Speaker. The Honourable Peter. Mr Speaker. No words, no spin, no gloss [00:14:30] can carry over the events that occurred in Orlando yesterday. The slaughter of nearly 50 innocent people is unacceptable by any moral or ethical standard. Equally unacceptable. I think, sir, is the sort of intolerance and the bigotry, because that is what it is that gets paraded at a time like this as people start to attempt to explain [00:15:00] these unacceptable actions. Mr. Speaker, I believe that bigotry begets bigotry. And that, in turn begets the type of extremism that we saw exemplified in Orlando yesterday. Mr. Speaker This is not an issue where one makes a moral judgement about anybody. The fact is that these young gay and lesbian people were out socialising, something they should have been able to do [00:15:30] in perfect freedom in perfect security and in perfect confidence, a madman. Because that is the one thing that is certain about the perpetrator. Cruelly ended that, and the questions will go on for some time as to why and how. And there will be questions about the United States attitude to the possession of handguns. There will be questions about the motivation of the individual. None [00:16:00] of those actually removed the tragedy of what happened. None of those restore any of those lives, rebuild any of those families or those friendships or rebuild those shattered communities. Mr. Speaker, we are a long way away, and I'm sure that the people of the United States are not sitting by their televisions now hanging on our every words. But our expression of sympathy and solidarity with them at this time of grief [00:16:30] counts in that it shows that as members of the world community, we actually share some basic values about integrity. We share some basic values about freedom we share share some basic values about people being able to live their lives and express their personalities to the fullest extent. Mr. Speaker, every time we see an event like this, it is a challenge to all of those values that we hold dear, even if we not may not be immediately near the scene of the crime. [00:17:00] So I share with others the sense of outrage, the expression of condolence and sympathy to the people of the United States in Orlando, in particular on this horrific occasion. But to start to go beyond that, to draw spurious conclusions at this early stage, Mr Speaker, I simply think starts to light the fuse for the next horrible outrage. And that is unacceptable. Mr. Speaker David Seymour. I would like to add, uh, the [00:17:30] act, party sympathy and condolences to those messages from other leaders who have made dignified and factual contributions to this debate. Mr. Speaker, it is a great tragedy, and our thoughts are with the victims with their families, with their communities and particularly the LGBTI communities of Orlando who appear to have been deliberately targeted and let us remain [00:18:00] strong in the knowledge that free and open societies have the resilience to sustain these tragedies, to support each other and to grow stronger again together. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The question is that the motion be agreed to those of that opinion will say I to the contrary. No, the eyes have it.
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