Special Debates — Dawn Raids—Apology

I move, That the House take note of the Dawn Raids and the recent apology.

On 14 June, when the Prime Minister announced that this Government will issue a formal apology to the Pacific communities for the harms, trauma, racism, and prejudice that occurred during the 1970s, we literally opened up the floodgates of a sea of wave after wave after wave of emotion. I, in my role of supporting that announcement, was struggling to try and control my own emotions, because that announcement hit home because it’s so personal to me and my family, but my story is one of many stories. I recall Dominic Godfrey on that day also struggled with his emotion, and he was a member of the press gallery. But the emotions have flowed out like a stream and have touched every corner of our Pacific diaspora. It has also touched family members who reside in the Pacific region. It has touched Pacific peoples in other parts of the world, who all recollect now the stories, many of them still emerging.

I want to acknowledge, first and foremost, why this is an important story, because it’s not just a story for Pacific peoples; it is a New Zealand story. I want to acknowledge the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, my ministerial colleagues, all of my caucus, the Māori caucus, and, in particular, the Pasifika caucus, because it’s been your support that has enabled this apology to take place. I want to say that in order to deliver an apology in a way that is meaningful and that is genuine and that can be accepted by those who were directly impacted, it was important that we used symbolism, culture, throughout the whole story, and there is symbolism from beginning to end. I used symbolism because it is one way in order to convey to those who were hurt directly to understand that we, the Government, and we, the members of Parliament, understand the trauma and the pain, first and foremost.

Secondly, I used symbolism to allow the rest of New Zealand who do not understand this story to be receptive to the message that harm was caused and that harm is intergenerational. I wanted to also use symbolism to remind New Zealand of the contribution of Pacific peoples that they have given: the 150 Niueans who performed the war chant; the 500 Cook Islanders who conveyed the pe’e and imene in welcoming the Prime Minister; the Samoans, who have a treaty of friendship—which is another story—who accepted and received the ifoga as a symbol of humility by a head of State. Never before done; usually done when life has been taken. But I believe that this is much, much more—that this is intergenerational. Ask anyone that was directly impacted and affected during that period. Only now, the younger people are beginning to better understand.

I used symbolism to paint a picture for those who do not understand culture of Māori or Pasifika, those who do not understand the harms of racism, to recognise the dreadful harm that it causes on a proud, proud people. I used symbolism to try and convey a very strong message to the next generation of Pacific peoples, one of the fastest-growing populations in Aotearoa. A generation that I refer to as the Generation 6Bs—people who are proudly brown, beautiful, brainy, bilingual, and bicultural—only in Māngere, we make it Generation 7Bs by saying they are brilliant. I used symbolism to try and lift their spirits. I used symbolism to try and make them proud of that cultural heritage, a cultural heritage that spreads thousands and thousands of years.

Of the elders who took their place, who sat next to the ifoga, one represented those people directly dawn-raided back in those days, and one was Taimalieutu Papali’i Kiwi Tamasese, a descendant of the Mau leaders who were imprisoned by New Zealand in Mt Eden prison, but it was Māui Pōmare, Āpirana Ngata, and Māori here who gave them comfort. I used symbolism through the presence of Falema’i Lesa Sega, a woman who took to court New Zealand and the British Government, all the way through to the Privy Council, to fight for her right to have citizenship. That citizenship she gained, but it got overturned by Muldoon, with the agreement of the Samoan Government at the time.

I used symbolism with the presence of Rev. Setaita, who represented the Tongan Methodist Church. The Tongan Methodists in the Tongan community were probably most at harm because police went on the day of worship in their sacred places and pulled people out and took them down to prison. The presence of Father Paulo Iosefa came from the Catholic church down the road, on K Road—the first church in Aotearoa New Zealand to hold mass in the Samoan language. The presence of Rev. Fei Taule’ale’usamai Davis, representing the Pacific Island Church (PIC)—they were the church that brought everybody down the road at the PIC off K Road. That whole K Road was the shopping centre for Pacific peoples in those days, where they could get their produce and meat. Once upon a time, that was a thriving place. Grey Lynn, Kingsland, Avondale—that was where Pacific peoples gravitated to and resided.

I’m grateful to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, who have offered to help celebrate and commemorate 1 August 2022, the commemoration of this apology. I want to acknowledge Ropota. He is not the usual orator for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, but he was chosen because he was directly impacted by the Dawn Raids at that period.

There are many stories, and I have tried to weave those stories into how this Government delivered that ceremony on that night, because the stories need people to better understand, not by way of compulsion, but by way that they can seek to understand, and understand that Pacific peoples are here to stay in Aotearoa.

As Her Royal Highness Princess Mele Siu‘ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu Fotofili said, this is Pacific peoples’ home. We are the future of Aotearoa New Zealand, whether others accept it or not. You just need to go around the regions and see the thriving Pacific population from Tai Tokerau to Tai Tonga, from up north to Invercargill, to the east and west of Aotearoa New Zealand. We are a thriving population, but we are being held back when racism and discrimination rears its ugly head, again and again and again, and I’m saying to this House and to all New Zealanders: we have to come together and slam racism on the head. That means that we as leaders of this House also have a duty and responsibility to send strong signals that flow out to all of New Zealand, because, as we say in Samoa, e afua mai mauga fa‘amanuiaga o se nu‘u. From the mountains flow the blessings that will bless the village, and it is the words that matter, as I said that night, because e i ai la matou fa‘aupuga, e pala ma‘a ae tumau pea upu. Rocks and boulders all turn to dust, but words matter to us. Words will live for ever through our oratory, through our songs, through our poetry, and we’re asking our young people: use the words of that night and display it with pride everywhere they may be.

Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātou katoa.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I stand for National to speak against the Dawn Raids and to support the Government’s apology. I think it is a shame it wasn’t able to be extended into a full Crown apology, because even though the Hon Aupito William Sio, the Minister who has resumed his seat, mentioned the Muldoon National Government, he forgot to mention that the Dawn Raids were commenced under the Norman Kirk Labour Government in 1973. I think if we’re going to get right down into it, it was actually a racist and economic response to the fact that New Zealand at that stage had unemployment going through the roof and we were part of an oil shock.

I can well remember the situation in New Zealand at that time. Pacific Islanders had been invited into and encouraged into New Zealand post World War II because of the economic boom and the fact that we needed people to work. Then 1973 came along, we had the oil shock, businesses were closing, people were losing their jobs, and Pacific people were overwhelmingly caught up in unemployment, housing situations, and all of those things. Someone needed to be scapegoated and it was pretty clear—the unions were behind it as well. It was about pushing out the Pacific Island community and sending them back to where they had come from. It was short term, it was cruel, and it was vile. When people have said to me, “But why, Judith, do you care so much about this?”, it’s because not only am I very aware of the hardship that it brought to people but because 86 percent of those arrested in the Dawn Raids were Pacific people, and yet they were just a third of all the overstayers.

If you consider the fact that people like my husband and his family came to New Zealand in the early 1960s, they had not a passport—they didn’t have passports. They had a certificate, a form that was handed to them, and they had that stamped—that was it. So when people say that someone was stopped for their passport, they didn’t have them, because you’ve got to remember as well that in 1962—I mean, that’s the independence of Samoa. Before that, it was a New Zealand colony. It was mandated but, essentially, run by New Zealand. So they weren’t treated the same as other people coming here because they didn’t have the protections of other people coming here as immigrants, and having been brought in here, they were told, “Here’s the jobs. You go for it. You work in the factories, you keep these things going, and you do all this. Oh, and if it all turns to custard, we’ll send you back home.”

So it was a shame on both Labour and National for that to have happened, and you’ve got to own that, in the Labour Party, and stop just blaming National. You’ve got to own it.

That is why it is a shame that the Opposition was not offered any opportunity to formally apologise until now, and I’d do that because just sitting in the stalls is not being part of the occasion. That’s why it should have been extended.

I say to people, you know, when I took my husband, who was then a boyfriend, home in 1979 to visit my father, why was he so racist against my husband? Because he knew the feeling that many people had towards Pacific families. That was the situation: they saw Pacific families as a problem.

So in 1982, when New Zealand citizenship was granted by the Privy Council in the Lesa case, which the Minister has referred to, it was granted to all Western Samoans who were born between 1924 and 1948, and the Act, the New Zealand Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act in 1982—which was brought in through this Parliament under the Muldoon Government—rescinded and annulled any citizenship claims by Samoans living in Samoa, but not those here in New Zealand. Yes, the Samoan Government of the day accepted that. Why? Because if they had not, they feared that so many people would leave to go to New Zealand, and that’s why there is a specific quota for Samoans to be able to come and live in New Zealand and to work here. That is why there is a special deal for Samoans, which a lot of other New Zealanders have no idea about. It’s because something was taken away from them that was legally theirs—that is why.

So let’s just look at what was going on at the time. We know it was a time of economic hardship. We know that people were happy to take people in when it suited them and to not support them when they needed it, but we also need to be very aware that this country can be in danger of doing this again, where it’s other migrants that we bring into work and that we then ignore once it becomes an issue. We have to be really careful we don’t repeat these mistakes of the past, whether it’s around the split migrant families, whether it’s about anyone else coming here, and I can’t think of any Pacific person I know who would not say that they just want people to be treated decently. So we can’t ignore these people or the families themselves.

Also, let me say too that we should be apologising to the immigration officers and the police officers who were forced to undertake this work, and the reason is—there was much made about it in the media about family members of MPs who might be involved—they didn’t have a choice. Police officers don’t get a choice on these things. They had to do it, and for some it would have lived with them for years. I just think we need to be aware that these are the sorts of things that really hurt people and they’re the sorts of things that stay for ever.

So when the Minister refers to racism, it’s racist now on these things—we know that. I think of my own family as well. I think of the racist cartoons that they endure—of course they do. If you ask questions and if you’re not on the same side of politics, you get condemned because they can, and we have to be much stronger as a country against this. We must look at our migrants today and in the past and say, “Hang on, we asked them to come. What are we doing?”, and the answer has to be that we must not repeat the errors of the past.

So I am very happy to stand on behalf of the National Party and say that I understand not all New Zealanders are going to understand all of the things that I’m talking about because they didn’t live in it and they don’t understand it or because they weren’t part of it, but let me just say it is a wrong thing not to apologise. It’s the wrong thing not to accept that wrongs were done, and we must own those.

I rise to take this short call on behalf of the Greens, and firstly, I wanted to acknowledge the connection between tangata moana and tangata whenua, and acknowledge that though our islands are many waves, there is but one ocean. I want to acknowledge all Pacific peoples, both past and present, who have come here for better employment and for educational opportunities—that’s whether they travelled here in the 1950s, 1960s, or 1970s, or are going to get off that plane next week to pick fruit as part of the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme.

I want to remind this House that Pacific peoples, when they come to this land, they have aspirations—aspirations of hope. As I was reflecting on this, I came across this poem by the poet Karlo Mila, and she said, “We have all travelled through the bodies of many relatives to be here, all of us wearing those who have passed, fresh on our faces. We are the next wave of a tide that has been coming for a long time. Let us follow the ocean roads that lead us via the stars to the expansions of each other. If we make mistakes on the shore, let us rectify this in the deep ocean. Let us steer through the storms, for our leaders have always been determined on the high seas.”

I was privileged to be in the town hall and to actually feel the emotion. The soundscape—actually, even though at the time of the Dawn Raids, I was but a child, when we heard the soundscape of police dogs and people crashing through doors, it actually reminded me of South Auckland in the 1990s. So I think it’s really important for us to not compartmentalise the time of the Dawn Raids. It wasn’t like racism started with the Dawn Raids; it was there before the Dawn Raids and it continued after the Dawn Raids.

I do support the education perspective of the Dawn Raids. It’s really, really important, and I’m mindful of the saying that “The struggle against powers is the struggle of remembering against forgetting”, and so making sure that this stuff is locked into the curriculum is, I think, an essential part of doing the right thing. I don’t think it should be voluntary, because the one thing I know about New Zealand is if it’s uncomfortable, it gets swept under the carpet—and that should go with all parts of our history that are uncomfortable, whether it’s the Land Wars, whether it is what happened in Samoa in terms of the Mau movement, and it must also happen with the Dawn Raids.

The speech that resonated with me the most at the town hall apology was the Tongan Princess Mele Siuʻilikutapu when she talked about the vā needing to be good between the islands and here within us in Aotearoa. She leaned into the need to fix our broken immigration system—fix this immigration system.

The Dawn Raids were about overstayers—well, we’re going through a COVID crisis and we still have many of our people who have been caught up in the cracks of that. Many of those people also are our essential workers who have carried us through this pandemic. These are more than just workers. They are brothers and sisters and uncles and aunties. They are family, and that’s why it is really important, for this apology to be truly meaningful, that we have a broad amnesty programme for people who overstay and also real pathways for residency. I look forward to that corner of the House supporting that call on behalf of our peoples.

These things get brought to our attention because communities get together. They get together to organise. They get together to get to know each other. They cross over all those different lines, as well.

I want to reflect on and remember those people that came together to push back against the Dawn Raids. I’m talking about our Pacific Island leaders, of course; our church communities; groups like Ngā Tamatoa; anti-racist organisations such as the Citizens Association for Racial Equality, or CARE, and the Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination—ACORD—and, of course, the Polynesian Panthers. They remind us that when we get organised in the spirit of solidarity, across difference and diversity, and across our different communities, we remember collectively that the power of the people is always stronger than the people in power. All power to the people. Meitaki ranuinui.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Talofa lava, mālō e lelei, bula vinaka, kia ora koutou katoa. I rise on behalf of the ACT Party in support of the apology to our Pacific communities for the trauma and injustice of the Dawn Raids in the 1970s. The Dawn Raids were the result of State-enforced policies that were violently imposed, undoubtedly racist, and totally unjustified. That era was a terrible example of the power of the State to persecute and to humiliate people who were simply here to answer the call to fill workforce shortages and to strive towards a better life for their families.

Those that came to this country had to grapple with short-sighted immigration policies that were almost designed to fail, and I applaud them for their perseverance and their forgiveness. For those targeted, the fear that your family could be next in line to being raided in the middle of the night must have been horrendous, especially when you knew what was coming: dogs barking, batons at the ready, megaphones blaring, and children being traumatised in the process. This is a deeply shameful part of our nation’s history.

However, I think it’s also important to note that we’re not here to demonise police officers who were ultimately acting upon the policies introduced by the third Labour Government and continued into the third National Government. From ACT’s perspective, immigration policy should be comprised of liberal values, including the non-aggression principle and freedom of movement. The role of the Government should be to protect people from force, not to carry it out on them. Instead, what New Zealand saw in the 1970s and well afterwards was State-sanctioned harassment, a “Papers, please.” culture, and bureaucrats wrecking the dream of living and thriving in New Zealand.

The effects of this era are still felt today, and there are many in our Pacific communities who have overstayed their visas and, in some cases, by decades. They are understandably terrified at the prospect of submitting a request for a visa under section 61 of the Immigration Act, because they know that if they are unsuccessful, they will almost certainly be arrested and deported. They also know that they could be putting their family members at risk under the Immigration Act. I urge the Government to work with our Pacific communities and develop a way forward for people in these situations.

When the topic of deportation comes up, I often think of a former associate of mine. Some years ago, he had an accident while out exercising and he broke his arm, unfortunately. He went to hospital to get treatment and, naturally, his immigration status was checked. Sadly, he had overstayed his visa and, out of pride, he had never discussed it with anyone or asked for help. He was arrested at the hospital, detained, and a few days later was deported. This was not under the Immigration Act 1964; this was under the Immigration Act 2009—the current one.

Although much has changed since the inhumanity of the Dawn Raids, we still have a long way to go. ACT absolutely supports the apology that we are discussing today. But just as with the poll tax, a New Zealand Government finds itself apologising for immigration policies of the past. I do wonder when we’ll be apologising for the horrendous consequences of our current immigration policies.

I once again acknowledge the perseverance of our Pacific communities and, most of all, their dignity and humility. Despite the enduring scars of that era, they have worked hard to create opportunities, find success, and have added a huge amount of positivity and culture to New Zealand. I sincerely hope that this apology from the Government and the House of Representatives at large helps to heal the wounds of the past and finally closes this chapter of New Zealand’s history. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Tēnā tātou e te Whare. Kia orana. Talofa lava. Mālō e lelei. Fakaalofa lahi atu. Ni sa bula vinaka. Aloha. Mauri ki a tātou, e hika mā, i tēnei Whare. Ka tū au i runga i te mana o Te Paati Māori i tēnei rā ki te kōrero i ngā kōrero e hāngai tō ki tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira.

[Greetings to us all, my fellow MPs, in this House. I stand today on behalf of Te Paati Māori to talk specifically on this important subject.]

I would like to first acknowledge those who put in the mahi to see this day come. I would like to mihi to the Polynesian Panthers, who this year celebrate their 50th year anniversary since their formation. I would like to acknowledge the Pacific communities in which the legacy of the Dawn Raids still lives on, especially in South Auckland. To the petitioners and the organisers of this petition, Josiah Tualamali’i and Benji Timu—who are here today—for requesting this special debate take place in the House of Parliament, thank you for your presence and for carrying the weight of the 7,366 signatures to this Whare today.

E te rangatira e Te Aupito ka mihi anō ki a koe me ō kōrero kua whakatakatoria i mua i te aroaro o tēnei Whare.

[To the honourable Te Aupito, I again acknowledge you and what you have said within this House.]

We are elated that the Government has finally apologised. This was a Crown apology. But we are excited to begin a new chapter with our whanaunga of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa; to begin a new conversation that unites tangata whenua and tangata moana towards our collective vision of our Aotearoa hau.

During the Dawn Raids era, Pasifika families were branded as overstayers and they were the target of systemic and personal racist attacks. These attacks sought to isolate and disenfranchise Pacific people from their communities, threatening their jobs and presence here in Aotearoa. This is, essentially, the harm of colonisation. We, as tangata whenua, were robbed of the opportunity to manaaki our tangata moana whanaunga, and that is absolutely devastating. Our right to manaaki and welcome our tangata moana whanaunga into our whare was disrupted by the Government’s colonial Whare, racist immigration policies, and policing tactics. The Dawn Raids act as a tragic reminder of the reality of the racism of our political system.

What do the police see when they see brown faces? Criminals, violence, overstayer, but not brother, father, cousin, leader, or activist. Our journeys of navigation and migration have led us back to each other, and our kinship runs deep and is bound across generations.

Ka whakawhiti, i whakawhiti atu ki Hawaiki-nui, ki Hawaiki-roa ki Hawaiki pāmamao.

[We crossed, we emigrated to the great Hawaiki, to the long Hawaiki, to the distant Hawaiki.]

We, as tangata whenua, have been included in the story from the beginning. As Ngā Tamatoa and the Polynesian Panthers worked together, they showcased the special relationship between tangata whenua and tangata moana, and our shared fight for liberation and justice in Aotearoa. Together, we have stood, side by side, against injustice and colonial oppression, and we will continue to do so.

Te Paati Māori wholeheartedly support the calls for education on the Dawn Raids to be taught in schools. It is part of our fabric of our history and our whakapapa of tangata moana in Aotearoa. It is important that our future generations are able to learn about our shared hardship as tangata whenua and tangata moana as we move towards a Tiriti-centric Aotearoa. This discussion is more timely than ever.

We have a lot of aroha for our whanaunga across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, especially as we face uncertain futures: our climate suffers, te taiao suffers, and our tangata moana whānau feel these impacts more than anyone. We, as tangata whenua, will uphold our tikanga, which allows us to manaaki our whanaunga of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, as according to our tikanga, so that we may collectively build our Aotearoa hau. We must hold space for this kōrero to take action towards justice. We must learn how to be true whanaunga for each other in the collective struggles. We are the movement that leaves no one behind. Just like the many rivers we identify with and flow out to the moana, as moana peoples, the ocean denies no rivers. Let this be the beginning of the conversation about how we can do better for our tangata moana whānau, and how we as a country can right the wrongs of the past and move forward to a better future.

Tangata moana, this is my message to you: you are not overstayers, you are not a problem to be solved, you are not leeches to this country, and you do not need to be assimilated. Tangata moana, you are our whanaunga; our shared whakapapa tells us so. Kia ora tātou.

Kia ora e Te Mana Whakawā. It is an honour and a privilege to participate in the Dawn Raids debate.

“Keke ‘ilo’ia mai, te’eki ke mafoa e ata, ‘oku ‘a. Ko hoku kaunga fononga koe fetu’u pea moe mahina, na’aku lotu kihe ‘Eiki ke kau mai ‘ihe ‘eku fononga. Peau hiva e ngaahi himi, ‘a hoku hufanga’anga.”—“If only you knew, my companions were the stars and the moon. I found refuge in my prayers to God to keep us safe, and found peace in singing hymns as we’d leave our homes before dawn.” Those were the words of Ailine Tupou Kanongata’a, wife of Siosiua Likiliki. They were members of Fakafeangai Mā’oni’oni Tongan Methodist Church, and were overstayers from 1971 to 1978. They were my parents, who are laid to rest at Waikaraka Cemetery in Onehunga, Auckland.

That’s the extent of the sharing by my mother of how they survived the Dawn Raids. Usually, she’d bring it out when I needed reflection on my behaviour and reminding of my responsibilities.

Ke he lilifu he gutu vagahau, I would like to honour the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, for her leadership in protecting Aotearoa New Zealand from COVID-19 and wrapping a korowai of aroha by providing free COVID-19 vaccinations for Aotearoa and the Pacific nations. To the Minister for Pacific Peoples, the Hon Aupito William Sio, fa‘afetai tele lava.

Before, during, and after the Dawn Raids, tangata whenua were suffering and suffocating from the partnership between the two races known as the Treaty of Waitangi. Fortunately, we have arrived at a time where we understand the race-based suffering that has been confronted by tangata whenua for over two centuries, as well as we, the descendants of the Dawn Raids migrants, who answered New Zealand’s call to come and work in the factories, from the Kingdom of Tonga to the islands of Samoa—the Pacific region—in the 1960s and 1970s.

I call upon Pacific peoples to put away our tears. God has blessed us with the wisdom to know what has to change, the courage to make the change, and aroha for those who we are racist against. Vaa tuatua, on 1 August, the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, formally apologised to the brown-skinned workers who allegedly overstayed. The Prime Minister reminded us—and I quote—“As a nation, we expect everyone in New Zealand to be treated with dignity and respect”. The Prime Minister has offered scholarships. Beginning now, I believe it is timely for the scholars of the descendants of the alleged brown-skinned overstayers and their families to think deeply about racism in migration, education, health, sport, and justice policies, and to make changes for the betterment of all of Aotearoa New Zealand.

In the words of the late Emeritus Professor Ranginui Walker, “Ka whawhai tonu mātou”—we struggle without end. I believe it is appropriate for us who are the descendants of the Dawn Raids to stand together with tangata whenua of Aotearoa to fight all forms of racism, because the longer we are divided, the longer we are ruled by racist policies.

Afioga fofoga fetalai, I am urging e ngā iwi o Moana-nui-a-Kiwa ki Aotearoa: our relationship with Māori is in our DNA. We are whānau. It is time we demonstrate our respect to tangata whenua and learn te reo Māori me tikanga, as well as our own Lea Faka-Tonga, Vosa Vakaviti, Gagana Samoa, te reo Māori o Kuki Airani, among the many Pacific languages.

However, ‘Eiki Sea, Her Royal Highness Princess Mele Siu’ilikutapu Kalaviuvalu Fotofili of Tonga, accepted our Prime Minister’s apology, and she advised us as migrants to stand up, to continue to work harder and smarter, and to count our blessings. As a member of Parliament and a descendant of the Dawn Raids, I agree with the Princess that the apology is in the right direction of the healing process.

This is the new dawn. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa.

I te tuatahi ka nui te mihi ki te iwi moana i tēnei rā.

[Firstly I would like to pay tribute today to the peoples of the Pacific.]

I stand to lend my voice to the apology for the Dawn Raids that so unfairly targeted our Pasifika peoples, friends, family, and brethren.

In 1973, the Government created a task force to deal with overstayers, and they were empowered to conduct random checks on suspected overstayers. The first media record the Parliamentary Library could find around the Dawn Raids specifically—recognising that raids were actually probably occurring from the early 1970s—was 13 March 1974, and the headline was “Thirty-eight Islanders were arrested in a series of dawn raids today, in what police describe as the biggest clamp-down on illegal immigrants.” Seventeen of the men, all of whom were between 20 and 30, were later released when it was found they had applied for extension of expired work permits.

How was this done? Twenty-four policemen and three immigration officers began the raids in Ponsonby and Freemans Bay at 5 a.m. They roused several of the men from their beds to take them to the police station for questioning in a large police van. A police officer said, ‘The immigration department was running the whole show. We were only there to assist.’, and so the concept of dawn raids was enabled.

Five days later, there was starting to be pushback in the public media. The Auckland Star, on 18 March—five days later—said, “The Government has been asked to declare a general amnesty for Pacific Islanders who overstay their visitors’ permits following the arrest of 21 Islanders in a dawn raid in Auckland. In telegrams to the Prime Minister, Mr Kirk, and the Minister of Immigration, Mr Coleman, the Citizens’ Association for Racial Equality has asked for proceedings against those arrested to be stayed and a general amnesty to be granted.” Surely, the red flags were already starting to be seen of those arrested. A good number of them were actually on legitimate visas, they were pulled from their beds, and this was clearly wrong.

The first time the House records any comment of dawn raids is on 29 March, about two weeks after the media started to pick it up—29 March 1974—with an oral question to Prime Minister Norman Kirk, the Labour Government 1972-74. Prime Minister Kirk replied, “The term ‘dawn raids’ is an extravagant use of language. The visits made by the police to various Onehunga addresses on 12 and 17 March commenced at 11.30 p.m. on each occasion. The New Lynn address was visited at 9.30 p.m. on 19 March. Checks of this nature are not new; they have taken place over a long period in accordance with normal procedures followed when information about breaches of the immigration laws are drawn to the attention of the police.” I would contest: who cares what time they were pulled from their beds; it was wrong.

Twenty years later, some of our first apologies were actually to the Chinese community—and I’d advocate here for a full Crown and Government apology—around the poll tax. Prime Minister Helen Clark on the day uttered words which I think carry through to today with what we’re discussing here: “Today we also express”—this is to the Chinese community—“our sorrow and regret that such practices were once considered appropriate. While the governments which passed these laws acted in a manner which was lawful at the time, their actions are seen by us today as unacceptable. We believe this act of reconciliation is required to ensure that full closure can be [brought] on this chapter in our nation’s history.”

I reflect back on Treaty settlements when I look at how we seek to make some attempt at historical apologies and historical redress and would comment the observation of many iwi that it is actually the apology and the acknowledgment that is more important than, certainly, commercial redress. I reflect back at a domain expert’s observations of apologies under Treaty settlements, the first of which was in May 1995, from the Hon Doug Graham with the Waikato Tainui deed of settlement, and the comment here is: “A Crown apology attempts to recognise the impact of the breaches on the claimant group, restore the honour of the Crown, and begin to re-build the relationship between the Crown and the claimant group.”

We offer a very humble apology here today as a step towards acknowledging an historical wrong, and I would say to those peoples, both here and those who have passed, moe mai, moe mai, moe mai rā. Kia ora mai tātou.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Much has been covered in the debate today, and I wanted to focus my contribution on the recording of stories, and these records in the House of Representatives, as future debates will focus on where we go to next.

“Aue le tautala le leoleo.”—“Don’t talk or say anything to the police.”—words spoken to children by their parents in Porirua East.

“Aue e galo lau pepa, kei kaofi oe le leoleo.”—“Don’t forget your papers in case the police arrest you.”—words spoken by a minister of the Pacific Island Church in Cannons Creek to his congregation.

“One of the reasons more Polynesians are prosecuted is that, generally speaking, they tell tales on one another. Another possible explanation is that islanders who come to New Zealand and overstay have very little cash, whereas people from the United States or Great Britain who overstay after a holiday do not look for a job and are not detected.”—Minister of Immigration, Parliament, 1975.

“If you have a herd of jerseys and two Friesians, the Friesians stand out.”—Minister of Police, 1976.

“The Dawn Raids were a racist response generated by a huge decline in New Zealand’s economy, which exposed the problem with New Zealand’s system of immigration and revealed how antagonistic the Government had been towards the Polynesian people who’d come to work for them.”—Lucia Bernard, aged 15, from Porirua, 2021.

I was 16 when I learnt of the Dawn Raids. I didn’t learn about them in my decile 10 college that I attended; I learnt about them when I was watching a play called The Dawn Raids, written by my Uncle Oscar. I was bewildered. Why was I not taught this at school? Why had my family not talked about this? When I undertook Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland under the tutelage of Dr Melani Anae, my eyes were opened but my family still did not talk about them. Decades later, I understand why.

On hearing of the upcoming Government apology, my father’s brother Malaesa told his story: “The raids and the targeting didn’t just happen in our homes. They happened in our workplaces and our schools.” My uncle was on the morning shift at the Moore Taylor shoe factory. One early Tuesday morning, police and immigration officers undertook checks at his job. My uncle was arrested while other members of my family looked on helplessly. He was taken to court, held in a boarding home for two nights on Symonds Street, then taken to the Ōtāhuhu Police Station where he was held for a further two nights. On the Saturday, he was taken to the airport where my mother and father met him and had a few moments to say goodbye. He was deported back to Samoa.

My uncle was confused and frustrated as English was his second language and he did not fully understand what was happening to him. Neither my uncle nor my father had shared the story previously. My uncle said it was not something he wanted to share. He held on to that shame and embarrassment for decades. Two weeks ago, my father and my uncles, Malaesa and Oscar, witnessed the apology in town, and I’m grateful they were alive to be able to do so.

This is my family’s story, but there are many other stories. In some of the stories there is the reporting on each other to avoid the heat on your family. Newtown and Porirua were the hot spots for the raids in Wellington. As said to me: “Wherever we brown people were living or congregated, we were targeted. Hanson Street, Hampshire Street, Driver Crescent.” As raids were carried out across the region, the instructions with the community were the same: “Carry your papers and don’t talk to the police.” If the knock on the door was heard, the instruction was “Ave tamaiti I totonu o le potu moe.”—“Take the children to the bedroom. Don’t let them be seen or see.”

The story of a Porirua Samoan woman named Emily is one I leave the House with today. Emily was the chosen one from her siblings to be educated and to carry the responsibility of providing for her family. She was sent to New Zealand on her auntie’s papers and, legally, was a different person. She had the birth date on her papers of 21 January 1935. Emily worked hard to live an honest life. She celebrated her 65th birthday when, in fact, she was only 58. Her children did not know how much the fear of deportation had sat on their mother’s shoulders until she was at the end of her life. Before she died, she asked her children to put on her headstone her real date of birth, as the threat of deportation wouldn’t happen when she died. So let it be put on this record of this House: Sivailoa Emily Mareko was born on 11 January 1942. Like other trailblazers: Toesulu Brown, Josiah, Benji, Lucia, Jaistone. Thank you, keep up the work.

E pala ma’a, ae le pala upu—rocks and boulders will crumble, but words and promises last for ever.

I rise to follow our leader, Judith, to also accept our part in the National Party for the role that we played in what is a tragic and such a disappointing part of New Zealand’s history. Today is not about blame; it is about recognition. If we go to our schools and talk to our young people, so many of them are proud of the country that they live in. They are taught that the largest Polynesian city in New Zealand is Auckland, and they’re taught about what that means to us. Many of them will have role models who play sport, who do so very many other things. But as with every story you can be proud of, the journey to get there is something that also needs to be known.

We know that two major Governments in the history of this country had a role to play in this, and it’s right that those two parties are here today together to offer an apology and to offer recognition. There are many ways this could be done, but, actually, a House of the people, of every person of New Zealand—for us to stand here collectively today, united about what we are so disappointed about but what we want for New Zealand, I think, sends a very clear message.

For my part—and this is a very brief part of what I want to say—I have the privilege of being one of a very small group of people that was made an honorary Cook Islander many, many years ago for my work with the Cook Islands community. That work is less important than the things I learnt and that I was taught in my engagement with Cook Islanders and people from Fiji and Niue and Tonga and all of the Pacific and the things we were trying to do in Europe. I must stand here and say very clearly, very proudly, that if not for that work, for the opportunity that was offered to me, for how welcomed I was in every single part of life that I was engaged in in the Pacific, then I don’t know that I would be standing here today, and would not be doing the job that I am able to.

To hear from members in this House about what it has meant to them and their families in what is not that long ago is more than distressing; it’s something that every single New Zealander should know about, should be concerned about, shouldn’t be ashamed of—because it’s not them that was there—but needs to work hard to make sure that people know about it and that it can never happen again. The last speaker talking about what happened to families, when they said what they had to do with their children if there was a knock on the door, is more than traumatic; it will live in the memories of those families.

I want to say to every single person of Pasifika descent in New Zealand or the Pacific Islands that you can be very proud of who you are, of your heritage, of your culture. There is nothing at all to hide. It is rich, it is vibrant, and it makes New Zealand a better place, because you too are New Zealanders. You are Pasifika New Zealanders but you are New Zealanders.

We often hear about rugby, and everybody celebrates that. To make an example of the game over the weekend, if not for Pasifika people in the Australia team and the New Zealand team, it might have been a very, very boring game. But actually, it’s not just about sport. There are people we should be very, very proud of. I have a list here that’s very long. I want to mention a couple. Ida Malosi—daughter of Tusi, who worked on the wharves, and Jane, who was a hospital cleaner—is New Zealand’s first Pasifika judge. All New Zealanders must be proud of that. David Eggleton, a European Tongan, Rotuman descent, current New Zealand Poet Laureate—we should all be proud of that. Tupou Neiufi is a New Zealand Paralympic and silver medallist in the 100-metre backstroke in the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships on behalf of New Zealand.

In the National Party, I am so proud that over this last weekend, when we were in our conference and 700 members of the National Party were asked to vote on who they wanted to be on our board, they elected Jannita Pilisi, in her own right, because she is a strong woman of values who spoke up and moved 700 people to vote for her, and she will continue to do the job that all New Zealanders must do, and particularly Pasifika New Zealanders.

On behalf of my party, following my leader, I offer a humble apology to all those that were harmed by the tragedy of what was done, for whatever reason. May it never happen again, and may you know that you are valued members of our community. Kia ora.

Fa‘afetai lava lau afioga le fofoga fetalai. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to round up this debate and be the last speaker in this Dawn Raids apology discussion.

I also want to acknowledge our generation’s experience that the Minister Aupito William Sio has mentioned, as I come from that generation as well. I also acknowledge, up in the gallery, Josiah Tualamali’i and Benji Timu, who are also part of that generation’s experience, and the initiative they took to bring that petition in that over 7,000 people have signed—so thank you to them both.

I acknowledge all the speakers today, and they’ve said some wonderful things. I thank the previous member, the Hon Todd McClay, speaking about the contribution that our Pacific community has given to Aotearoa New Zealand.

When I look at the Dawn Raids in the 1970s, I often hear the words of my community saying that it was painful, it was an emotional time period, a lot of distrust, and feelings of betrayal. Sometimes I hear silence, because many did not want to talk about it.

My family came in the 1980s, post the Dawn Raids, but my extended family were already here—my grandmother Galumalemana Laloata Taiatu had come here in the late 1960s and settled in Grey Lynn, Ponsonby. She went through the Dawn Raids period, but never spoke about it. I often heard it from other church members, because when she signalled to us in Samoa to come, we came in the 1980s, and she had already given us a place to stay in Grey Lynn. I went to and grew up in Ekalesia Fa’apotopotoga Kerisiano Samoa (EFKS), Grey Lynn, where I acknowledge Toesulu Brown, and her words on the night really made me feel really emotional because that’s the community I grew up in as a young child, as well. Many of the EFKS members, again, did not mention it as much, but I heard glimpses of it throughout my childhood. That is where the generation’s experience, I think, had the opportunity to learn and where this Government has given the investment so that our younger children, our youth, and our kura and schools will be able to learn about the Dawn Raids.

When I look at the ceremony that has taken place, it was such an emotional time for myself and my family, for our caucus, and for everyone of Māori and Pacific heritage, because—remember—if you were brown, you were a target.

As we were getting welcomed by Ngāti Whātua when walking down the aisle and being welcomed by the Niuean and Cook Island communities with their drums, and then we stopped at the front of the town hall and we heard that soundtrack: the soundscape where it was eerily silent. Then we heard the sounds of the night. We heard the knocking on the door, the dogs starting to bark, the feet and the footsteps within the house. It was so—I tried to hold it in, but I couldn’t, and I could see that many of the community that were sitting there in the town hall all had teary eyes, because that was just a glimpse of what had happened in that time period.

Then the mat that was laid over our Prime Minister—how humble it was for myself and our community. To see a Prime Minister come underneath that mat was huge for us. Then, to have the community of those people who were affected in that time period—and I also acknowledge my auntie Taimalieutu Kiwi Tamasese, who was part of the lifting of the mat and symbolising the forgiveness.

I am so proud that this Government and our Prime Minister were able to show humility for something that we had not done. But I acknowledge the policy from both sides of the House—both parties—that was implemented in that time period.

I acknowledge that my extended family, who were already here before we had come from Samoa, had joined the Polynesian Panthers. I acknowledge my uncle and auntie, Reverend Alec Toleafoa and Lupematasila Melanie Anae.

To round up the debate, I am thankful that we had come to this place, that we be able to give the apology, and I thank everyone involved. Fa‘afetai lava.

Motion agreed to.

Dawn raids and apology noted.