An inquest has heard the loophole, which allowed terrorist Brenton Tarrant to obtain military-style semi-automatic firearms, was well-known before March 2019. But political will to close it was lacking until 51 people lost their lives. The inquest into the worshippers murdered at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre yesterday heard from Waikato University Law Professor, Alexander Gillespie, who says the shootings were foreseeable. Timothy Brown was in court.