A local Muslim woman says there have always been concerns that there could be an attack in New Zealand against this community.

50 people are confirmed dead after Friday's terror attack at two mosques in Christchurch.

While the mosque shooter didn't appear on any watchlist by intelligence services here or in Australia, the Islamic community says they have long been warning that discrimination and the alt-right were on the rise in New Zealand.

The Islamic Women's Council of New Zealand met with GCSB, SIS and government officials numerous times over the past five years, but feel like their concerns have never been heard.

Spokeswoman Anjum Rahman told Larry Williams that they have been warning about a rise of vitriol, particularly online and in the media, and their concerns that overseas events would influence New Zealanders.

She says they have met with ministers and senior public servants over the years

"We conveyed various issues to the police, for example when we gave them details of a Facebook page with severe hate messages, they did investigate that for us. Whenever we have found things that are troubling, we raised them with police."

However, Rahman says that there was not the urgency or investment that there could have been.

"We, at various meetings, have said that we would expect they would put as much effort into monitoring these groups as they would into surveillance into the Muslim community, and these groups would be a threat to our safety.

"I don't feel like we got any kind of detailed response into what was happening into that area."

She says that while the scale and the method of the Christchurch attack were shocking, they still expected something to happen.

"Given what has happened in Canada and the US and Europe, we were always fearful that something like that could happen here."

Rahman says that she commends the support the community has received from New Zealand authorities, particularly Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

"Once the immediate support needs for Christchurch are over, then there will need to be a period of reviewing how we can make changes in this country that will make it a safer place for all of us here. A lot of work needs to be done in that area."

And that is something all New Zealanders will have to work on, Rahman says.