Greens support calls for 'overdue' dawn raids apology

The Polynesian Panthers at a protest rally in the 1970s. Photo / John Miller

The Green Party is supporting calls for a formal Government apology for the dawn raids of the 1970s.

The Green Party's spokesman for Pacific Peoples Teanau Tuiono called the apology "overdue".

"The dawn raids are a shameful stain on New Zealand history, defined by racial tension and unrest as police and immigration authorities victimised Pacific Islanders they suspected of abusing the terms of their visas.

"It was a racist attack on Pacific families and communities that was fuelled and enabled by the New Zealand government," Tuiono said.

Earlier this week RNZ reported the Polynesian Panthers want a Government apology for the race-based dawn raids.

At the time Labour and then National governments authorised police raids on Pasifika homes and workplaces to check for overstayers.

This followed a boom period where migration was encouraged to New Zealand from the Pacific to fill labour shortages.

Teanau Tuiono is the Green Party spokesperson for Pacific Peoples. Photo / File

During the dawn raids police used a policy of "random checks" to stop Pacific people and an "idle and disorderly" charge to detain them even when no crime was committed.

Tuiono said it is important to acknowledge the Polynesian Panthers legacy and the role they played to stand up for the rights of Pacific communities.

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"Ensuring that this history is remembered and taught in schools is not only crucial to ensuring we do not repeat the mistakes of the past," Tuiono said.

Tuiono says the Government must do better than those who sat before them.

Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick took to Twitter to say it was "past time to apologise".

By the mid-60s, Pasifika comprised more than 60% of the population of central Auckland. Invited to NZ to build our economy, then scapegoated as “overstayers,” through racist (majority of overstayers were European/US) targeting.

Past time to apologise.https://t.co/lx0LdIQ488 pic.twitter.com/BPEXPvRuy7

— Chlöe Swarbrick (@_chloeswarbrick) March 23, 2021

Will 'Ilolahia, a Polynesian Panther's founding members, told RNZ the dawn raids marked a dark time for the Pasifika community.

"It was harrowing to hear our community coming and telling us about all these issues and then some of my friends and that were picked up on the road even though they were actually New Zealand-born Pacific Islanders. And so the call for an apology I think is long overdue."

- Additional reporting with RNZ