5. 90 -second Statements

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:55 pm on 3 April 2019.

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Photo of Mohammad Asghar Mohammad Asghar Conservative 3:55, 3 April 2019

Fifty people died and dozens more were injured when a gunman attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, last month. This horrific event was a direct attack on the values of tolerance and freedom of worship, which we all hold dear. Recently, security had to be stepped up at mosques around Birmingham after five were targeted during a spate of vandalism. The Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, has announced a funding boost of £1.6 million of protective security for places of worship to help reassure communities. We in Wales must play our part. Nobody should fear persecution due to their faith. We reject those who seek to sow the seeds of hatred and division among our communities.

Deputy Presiding Officer, Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, with the way she handled the situation after this whole massacre, she has become the most admirable woman around the world. She hugged the victims, she prayed with them, she cried with them, and the way she took those actions—the gun controls were done within days and her nation was crying with the victims and their families. We must learn lessons. Before I finish, I'll quote one or two words from that speech that she made. It is her quote:

'We are not immune to the viruses of hate, of fear, of other. We never have been. But we can be the nation that discovers the cure.'

I think we should be the one. The direct impact of her speech was that most of the victims actually pardoned the person who killed their relations. What a great person. I think, from this Chamber, we should invite her to come and tell us the way she has handled the situation and we should learn some lessons. Thank you.