The Australian man accused of killing 50 Muslim worshippers in gun attacks on two mosques in Christchurch will face 50 murder charges and 39 attempted murder charges, New Zealand police said on Thursday.

"Other charges are still under consideration," police said in a statement on Thursday.

Brenton Tarrant appears in the District Court in Christchurch after his arrest.Credit:AAP

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, was previously charged with only one murder following the attack and has been remanded without a plea.

The attack at the Linwood and Al Noor mosques on  March 15 was the worst mass shooting by a lone gunman in New Zealand.

Tarrant, from Grafton in NSW, is being held in isolation in a high-security wing of New Zealand's only maximum security prison, in Paremoremo, Auckland, and has had no access to television, radio, newspapers or visitors.

He will appear in the High Court by video link on Friday, but will not be required to enter pleas to the charges.

A mourner prays near the Linwood Mosque in Christchurch.Credit:AP

National and international media made 12 applications to film, take photos of and record Tarrant when he appears on Friday. They were all declined by High Court Justice Cameron Mander.

At his first court hearing on March 16, media were allowed to take photos as long as they were pixelated before publication and before they were supplied to foreign media.

The judge said that decision "will remain in force until further order of the court".

Yama Nabi holds a photo of his father Haji-Daoud Nabi who was killed in the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch.Credit:Jason South

In a minute released in advance of the hearing, he said the hearing – which is "likely to be relatively brief" – was mainly to learn what legal representation the man would have throughout the court process.

Formal complaint

Earlier, Tarrant signalled to his first duty lawyer that he would represent himself.

He has also complained about being denied access to visitors and phone calls from his cell, according to a Corrections source.

Everyone in custody is entitled to exercise, bedding, a proper diet, one private visitor a week, a legal adviser, medical treatment, healthcare, mail, and telephone calls, but these can be withheld for various reasons including being segregated or in protective custody, health and safety, and because it is not practicable.

"He's under constant observation and isolation. He doesn't get the usual minimum entitlements. So no phone calls and no visits," the source said.

Corrections said the prisoner was being managed in accordance with the Corrections Act.

Paremoremo has the highest number of Māori and Pacific Island staff in the country. The prisoner will be dealt with by officers of different ethnic origins, a source said.

It's understood Tarrant's cell has a front and back door. The front is for the guards, the back leads to his own yard the same size as the cell. The yard has a concrete floor and walls, and he's allowed into the yard for one hour a day.

Terrorism charges unclear

Despite labelling the shooting an act of terrorism, authorities had not said whether Tarrant would be the first person charged under New Zealand's anti-terrorism laws.

The country's terrorism legislation has in the past proved unwieldy and complex, and legal experts have said terrorism charges might just complicate the prosecution for no material difference in the outcome if Tarrant is convicted.

Auckland University of Technology professor Kris Gledhill, who specialises in criminal law and human rights, said that, under terrorism laws, the prosecution would have to show how the accused was trying to instil terror in the population through the advancement of a political, ideological or religious cause.

But a murder charge seeks only to answer the more straightforward question of whether he killed deliberately.

"The prosecution can make sure they don't bring a charge which implicitly brings a platform into the arena. His ideology is not relevant to whether he committed murder. My hope would be they do it fairly speedily, and that the prosecutors make decisions that minimise his soapbox."

For example, the prosecutors could decide to bring representative charges, which stand in as examples for all the charges, and would cut down on the number of forensic pathologists, witnesses, and experts needed for every victim.

Gledhill said that could be a "fairly straightforward and quick trial" while still allowing the judge to impose life in prison.

However, it would carry a downside for victims who want the death of their loved ones investigated fully and publicly.

Of the 50 people also injured in the attack, 16 remained in hospital this week including a critically hurt four-year-old girl.

Gun laws tightened

In response to the shooting, New Zealand lawmakers have almost unanimously been pushing tightened gun laws through Parliament in recent days.

A ban on military-style semi-automatic rifles, such as those used in the attack, are expected to be put in place by the end of next week.

Stuff, Reuters, AAP

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