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Dawn raids (New Zealand)

The dawn raids were crackdowns in New Zealand from 1973 to 1979 and then sporadically afterward on alleged illegal overstayers from the Pacific Islands. The raids were first introduced in 1973 by Prime Minister Norman Kirk's Labour government, who discontinued them in April 1974. However, they were later reintroduced and intensified by Rob Muldoon's Third National government.[1][2] These operations involved special police squads conducting often aggressive raids on the homes and workplaces of overstayers throughout New Zealand, usually at dawn and almost exclusively directed at Pasifika New Zealanders, regardless of their citizenship status.[3] Overstayers and their families were often prosecuted and then deported back to their countries.[4][5]

The dawn raids were particularly controversial since Pacific Islanders made up only one-third of overstayers but accounted for 86% of those arrested and prosecuted.[3] The majority of overstayers were from Great Britain, Europe, South Africa, and the United States.[4][6] Effects were particularly felt in Auckland, where two-thirds of the Pasifika community lived at the time.[7] The city's Māori community were also adversely affected because of the similarities in appearance between many Māori and Pasifika. The police controversially told Māori to carry a passport with them, in case they were stopped by police on suspicion of being illegal immigrants.[8] The raids continued until 1979, when they were halted by the Muldoon government as deporting migrant workers was a burden on the struggling economy, but they continued sporadically until the early 1980s.[4]

The raids contributed firmly to the genesis of pan-Pasifika ethnic identity, today one of New Zealand's major ethnic communities,[9] and led to the growth of social justice groups such as the Polynesian Panthers to resist the raids.[7] Dr Melani Anae of the University of Auckland has described the raids as "the most blatantly racist attack on Pacific peoples by the New Zealand government in New Zealand’s history".[7]

The raids deteriorated New Zealand's diplomatic ties with Pacific Island countries[4] and have met with widespread condemnation in the following years. Prime Minister Helen Clark condemned the raids as "shameful" in 2002 while giving a formal apology to Samoa for New Zealand's colonial administration.[10][7] In early August 2021, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern formally apologised for the dawn raids on behalf of the New Zealand Government.[11][12][13]

  1. ^ Anae 2012, p. 227-230.
  2. ^ Mitchell, James (July 2003). Immigration and National Identity in 1970s New Zealand (PDF) (PhD). University of Otago. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference pi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d Damon Fepulea'I, Rachel Jean, Tarx Morrison (2005). Dawn Raids (documentary). TVNZ, Isola Publications.
  5. ^ Anae 2012, p. 230-233.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stuff apology was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c d "The dawn raids: causes, impacts and legacy". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  8. ^ Faheid, Dalia (1 August 2021). "New Zealand Apologizes For 1970s Immigration Raids That Targeted Pacific Islanders". NPR. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  9. ^ Coutts, Brent. Pacific History. p. 345.
  10. ^ "A proper dawn raids apology?". Otago Daily Times Online News. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference RNZ apology was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Guardian apology was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Al Jazeera apology was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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