Q+A: ASPI Border Security Programme Head Dr John Coyne interviewed by Corin Dann
An Australian security expert says if New Zealand had stronger guns laws, Friday’s attack would not have been as
devastating as it was.
Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute Border Security Programme, Dr John Coyne, says, “had the New
Zealand government adopted the gun laws that have been used in Australia since the dreadful Tasmanian attack at Port
Arthur that were introduced by the Australian Prime Minister at the time, John Howard, I think that this attack would
have looked very, very different.
“What has happened is assault weapons and semi-automatic weapons have been removed from private citizens who don’t have
a reason to hold them. We no longer in this country, in Australia, have serial or spree killings involving weapons.”
Dr John Coyne says security agencies have a difficult task monitoring large volumes of intelligence.
“it’s very difficult online to identify the difference between a young person who is sprouting absolute rubbish online
versus someone who has bought into such a horrible, vilifying dogma as Tarrant has.”
He says right wing extremism will be hard to stamp out.
“The problem of today is that these small, hard-core number of right-wing extremists now have the benefits of social
media that we all have and are able to hook up globally into a global network, and they’re able to create their own echo
chambers where they spread their own poisonous message to each other – and the whole time, egging each other on.”
Please find the transcript attached.
ends