I have no doubt that it hits hard for any practitioners of the Muslim faith, who must also feel a deep sense of loss, betrayal and hurt. While not particularly religious myself, I was bought up around religion and know that there is a strong bond within the communities of any faith (something that everyone can admire).

The response of our nation is what truly makes me feel proud to call myself a New Zealander. We have an ingrained sense of what is right and for something so wrong to happen in our land brings out the strong resolve that dwells within the Kiwi spirit. The immediate, world-wide response in a time like this helps restore a faith in humanity that would otherwise be destroyed in an instant with such a despicable act.

Credit Due
Coming from a military family, I've always held a high regard for the people that are tasked with cultivating the day-to-day safety of our country.

As such, I believe the NZ Police deserve the utmost praise for their handling of the situation. Regardless of your personal feelings towards the institution, you must agree that the response time of 6 minutes to the scene and an arrest shortly after 30 minutes is purely commendable.

The professionalism and respect for the community was evident in the early press releases and a distinct sense of transparency showed they were aware some serious questions were going to be raised in the coming days, but the immediate focus was the safety of New Zealand as a whole (rather than attempting to plant the seeds of self-preservation).

Yes, unfortunately they were unable to stop the attacker before cruelly taking so many lives and it may be revealed in the coming weeks that there was possibly something that could have been done to prevent this from ever happening – but it is important to remember: it is all too easy to tear down their efforts in hindsight. Instead, the mistake here would be to not learn from this, if there is something that could have been done: make sure it becomes part of regular routine to check for the signs.