Christchurch mosque shooter unlikely to be sent back to Australia: Jacinda Ardern

The Christchurch mosque killer, Brenton Tarrant, is ‘unlikely’ to be returned to his homeland of Australia, according to New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. While speaking to Sky News, Ardern said that talks between the two countries aren’t over, however, early suggestions are that victims’ families wish to see that Tarrant’s sentence is served in New Zealand. The Australian mass murderer was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in August and since his sentencing, it has been debated over whether the 29-year-old could ever conceivably be deported back to his native land. 

New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has called for Tarrant, who killed 51 people, to extradited to avoid the country paying to keep him locked up for life. While speaking to the media outlet, Peters said that it was time for Australia’s Minister of Home Affairs, Peter Dutton, to receive and carry out the terrorist’s sentence in Australia. Further, he added that the Islamic community and all of New Zealand has already suffered enough without having to pay ‘astronomical’ prison costs to keep him safe in the country’s prison system. 

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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that he was open to discussions about Tarrant’s transfer, however, no official request has been made as of now. Ardern has shown little enthusiasm for the idea of a transfer, however, she also noted that current laws don’t allow it and that any decision should be driven by the wishes of survivors and family members. According to reports, the social security measures for the Australian mass killer are expected to cost taxpayers almost $2.4 million over two years. The government documents also say that he is likely to have needs and present risk at a level of severity beyond any managed in New Zealand before. 

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Tarrant’s sentence 

Tarrant was sentenced to life without parole for the attacks on two mosques last year that killed 51 Muslims worshippers. He had pleaded guilty to 51 murders, 40 attempted murders and one charge of committing a terrorist act when he went on a shooting rampage at two mosques in Christchurch and live-streamed it on Facebook. However, he was sentenced with the maximum available sentence used for the first time in New Zealand. 

Tarrant is a former gym instructor from the rural New South Wales town of Grafton. He moved to New Zealand in 2017 and immediately started planning an attack on the country’s Muslim community. It was noted that even though Australia and New Zealand have close visa arrangements, they still do not have a prisoner transfer deal, which created a hurdle to any near-term change in Tarrant’s imprisonment. 

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