Possibly. But it’s a get the message out there. NZ is safe to come to.
Can never see Theresa May or Angela Merkel fronting a murder apology on behalf on the nation :shrug:
Being such a small and remote country, tourism/backpacking is huge value to them, I guess the Prime Minister got involved to try and reassure people that murder of tourists is not an everyday event and that NZ is still a safe country to visit. Pretty much a PR event.