Two years after Christchurch, New Zealand makes plotting a terrorist attack a crime

Changes to the law were recommended after the 2019 Christchurch shootings and sped up after a supermarket knife attack earlier this month

New Zealand has passed a law that makes plotting a terrorist attack a crime, fixing a legal loophole that was exposed earlier this month by a violent knife attack.

The new law had been months in the planning but was hurried through parliament after an extremist inspired by the Islamic State group grabbed a knife at an Auckland supermarket on 3 September and began stabbing shoppers. He wounded five while two others were injured in the chaos. All are still recovering.