New Zealand introduces Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill to counter extremists

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<strong>The New Zealand government introduced the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill on Tuesday, designed to boost the country's ability to respond to a wider range of extremist activities.</strong></p>
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The bill strengthens New Zealand's counter-terrorism legislation and ensures that the right legislative tools are available to intervene early and prevent harm, said a government statement.</p>
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"This is the government's first step to implementing recommendation 18 of the Royal Commission into the Terrorist Attack on Christchurch mosque attack on March 15, 2019, which called for a review of all legislation related to New Zealand's counter-terrorism effort to ensure it is fit-for-purpose and enables Public sector agencies to operate effectively," Xinhua news agency quoted Justice Minister Kris Faafoi as saying.</p>
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"The crimes perpetrated against members of our Muslim community on March 15 two years ago brought terrorism to this country in a way we had never seen before," Faafoi said.</p>
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The bill amends the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 and Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Act 2019.</p>
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The proposed changes include: making amendments to clarify the definition of a "terrorist act"; create new offences to criminalise planning or preparation for a terrorist act, more clearly criminalise terrorist weapons and combat training, and a new offence for international travel to carry out terrorist activities, among others.</p>
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Once the bill has its first reading, the next step is for the Justice Select Committee to call for public submissions, Faafoi said.</p>
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<em>(IANS)</em></p>
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