Christchurch shooting LIVE: Families of Al Noor, Linwood mosque victims wait for release of bodies, burials planned

Photographer for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Jason South, is on the ground in Christchurch.

Here are some pictures taken on Tuesday morning. 

Since Friday’s attacks there has been significant soul-searching in New Zealand about Christchurch’s reputation for having a troubled racial history.

Many are asking whether the spasm of violence might have been avoided if the city’s dark past had been confronted earlier.

In the 1980s and 90s, Christchurch became known as New Zealand’s skinhead capital, says Dr Jarrod Gilbert, a gang expert from Canterbury University.

In 1994, the gang Fourth Reich was formed in a Christchurch jail and in the years that followed its members would be involved in three vicious race murders and countless acts of violence across the South Island.

Other gangs with similar identities rose and fell.

One of Christchurch’s better known fringe figures is Kyle Chapman, who has run three times to become mayor as a white nationalist.

But Dr Gilbert warns not to link the skinheads of the city’s past to the atrocity committed by an Australian terrorist last week.

To the extent that Christchurch had a white supremacist problem, says Dr Gilbert, it was largely because the South Island was markedly less multicultural than the North.

The subculture faded out towards the end of the decade because it was not tolerated, he said.

Dr Gilbert warned against connecting Tarrant’s radicalism and that of another generation’s white nationalism.

“Skinheads were street thugs who drank cheap cider and yelled abuse at people on street corners,’’ he says. “This is the alt-right.”

Ms Ardern also spoke to the parliament about Haji-Daoud Nabi, the 71-year-old man who opened the mosque door in Christchurch on Friday when the accused shooter was entering the building.

"His final words were, 'Hello, brother'. He had no idea of the hate that sat behind that door," she said. 

"But his welcome tells us so much - that he was a member of a faith that welcomed all its members, that showed openness and care.

"Yes, the person who committed these acts was not from here. He was not raised here. He have did not find his ideology here. But that is not to say that those very same views do not live here. I know that as a nation, we wish to provide every comfort we can to our Muslim community in this darkest of times, and we are."

She also said she will never use the name of the accused shooter. 

"He is a terrorist. He is a criminal. He is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless," she said. 

Jacinda Ardern also reiterated the government's commitment to gun law reform and committed to examining the role social media played in the atrocity. 

"There is no question that ideas and language of division and hate have existed for decades but their form of distribution, the tools of organisation, they are new. We cannot simply sit back and accept that these platforms just exist and that what is said on them is not the responsibility of a place where they are published. They are the publisher, not just the postman," she said. 

"There cannot be a case of all profit, no responsibility. This, of course, doesn't take away the responsibility we, too, must show as a nation. To confront racism, violence and extremism. I don't have all of the answers now but we must collectively find them and we must act."

The New Zealand parliament in Wellington has opened with an Islamic prayer and an emotional speech from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Ms Ardern said March 15 would be a day forever "etched in our collective memories".

"On a quiet Friday afternoon, a man stormed into a place of peaceful worship and took away the lives of 50 people. That quiet Friday afternoon has become our darkest of days," she said.

"One of the roles I never anticipated having and hoped never to have, is to voice the grief of a nation. At this time, it has been second only to securing the care of those affected and the safety of everyone. In this role I wanted to speak directly to the families. We cannot know your grief but we can walk with you at every stage."

She also paid tribute to the first responders, and told the stories of the heroes who tried to save the lives of others during the shooting.

Politicians became emotional and were weeping, Stuff.co.nz reported, with others holding back tears.

Sky TV in New Zealand says it was its own decision to remove Sky News Australia from its channel line-up during the Christchurch terror attack, not the decision of police, Stuff.co.nz reports:

Spokeswoman Kristy Martin said in a statement on Saturday that Sky had decided to remove Sky News Australia from its platform "while disturbing footage of the shootings was being shown to avoid causing any distress to our viewers".

Ms Martin said the decision to replace the channel on Sky TV was done in consultation with Sky News Australia.

"At no time did the New Zealand Police request that we remove Sky News Australia content," Martin clarified on Tuesday.

Chief censor David Shanks has officially classified the "full 17 minute video" as objectionable, meaning New Zealanders could face a 14-year jail term for sharing or distributing it.

However, a spokeswoman for the Office of Film and Literature Classification clarified that any edited clip would need to be treated as a new publication and a separate judgement would need to be made.

• 65 visas have been granted to families of the victims, including those travelling to New Zealand.
• No bodies have been repatriated overseas, however this is likely to happen in the coming days.
• 30 people are still in hospital. Nine are in intensive care in a critical condition.
• Three patients improved in the last few days and moved out of intensive care and into special care.
• There will be an increased presence at New Zealand's international airports.
• Over 600 people have used support helplines, with an average consultation time of 40 minutes.
• Financial support is being offered to those affected, including one-off payments for food, clothing and petrol.
• 68 schools and 19 early childhood centres have contacted the Ministry of Education seeking support.

Law firm Gordon Legal are preparing to issue a statement on behalf of Will Connolly, the Melbourne teenager who has been dubbed "Egg Boy".

Connolly, 17, smashed an egg into the head of politician Fraser Anning on Saturday afternoon, before he was tackled to the ground by the Queensland Senator's supporters. 

It came after the senator issued a statement blaming the Christchurch terror attack on an increase of Islamic immigration and stated that Muslim people were "not blameless".

Senior partner at Gordon Legal, Peter Gordon, will address the media on Tuesday in Melbourne at 1.30pm to make a statement on behalf of the teen "regarding Saturday's incident with Senator Fraser Anning".