Actions taken by the Panthers
The PIG Patrol
Poster for a Polynesian Panthers meeting
The Panthers were quick to react to the unfair raids that were carried out at random on themselves and Pacific community. Many of the Polynesian Panthers were New Zealand born so the raids did not affect them but they did face prejudice from the police and wider community. The Panthers aimed to stop harassment and raids conducted by the police as many of their parents who weren't first generation New Zealanders did not want trouble brought upon them and did not see that the Police were treating them unfairly. Polynesians not only faced raids but also faced random checks by police on the streets and local bars. One of the Panthers key protests was the formation of the Police Investigation Group or what they called the 'PIG Patrol'. This was set up in protest of the raids and random checks. What the PIG Patrol involved was turning the dawn raids and random checks back on the police. What they did during these patrols involved following police and making sure that they weren't harassing Polynesians for unnecessary reasons.
Dawn raids were not the only problem as some Polynesians were being raided by police at their jobs. The panthers helped their community with legal aid so that their Pacific people would understand how to protect themselves against unfair claims made against them. They also supported and gave advice to those in the community who overstayed their visas and advised them to go to the Immigration office to become permanent New Zealand residents.
The Polynesian Panthers worked hard to stop these unfair raids on their Pacific neighbors homes and contacted the ministers office to get these things stopped. They faced potential arrest and many were arrested but they knew that it was for a good cause and that if they did not challenge the government against the dawn raids then no one else would.
The Polynesian Panthers worked hard to stop these unfair raids on their Pacific neighbors homes and contacted the ministers office to get these things stopped. They faced potential arrest and many were arrested but they knew that it was for a good cause and that if they did not challenge the government against the dawn raids then no one else would.
Opposition by the Government/Police
The government set up a special police task force to deal with potential over-stayers. This involved police knocking on people's doors during the late nights or early hours of the morning. They demanded passports, documents or visitor permits as proof of being either a New Zealand citizen or allowed to stay in the country.
They were also heavily involved with random checks of people on the street. They were often criticized for operating in areas like bars where many of the people there were either Polynesian or Maori where they would make arrests for petty crimes.
The dawn raids were heavily flawed as many police soon became confused as to who was an over-stayer and who wasn't. Many of the police thought that what they were doing was fair where that was not the case for those on the other side of the conflict. It became seen as almost racial as they only conducted raids against Polynesians and Polynesians alone, forgetting that many Polynesians were not over-stayers and that they weren't the only immigrant group that had overstayed their visas.
After much protest against them, the dawn raids were soon called off but it was too late for many of the Polynesians who had been deported due to the raids and arrests conducted by the police under the government's orders.
They were also heavily involved with random checks of people on the street. They were often criticized for operating in areas like bars where many of the people there were either Polynesian or Maori where they would make arrests for petty crimes.
The dawn raids were heavily flawed as many police soon became confused as to who was an over-stayer and who wasn't. Many of the police thought that what they were doing was fair where that was not the case for those on the other side of the conflict. It became seen as almost racial as they only conducted raids against Polynesians and Polynesians alone, forgetting that many Polynesians were not over-stayers and that they weren't the only immigrant group that had overstayed their visas.
After much protest against them, the dawn raids were soon called off but it was too late for many of the Polynesians who had been deported due to the raids and arrests conducted by the police under the government's orders.
Key Ideas
- The Polynesian Panthers challenged the government by using the PIG Patrol and conducting raids on the ministers houses so that they could see how the Polynesians felt about the raids conducted on them.
- The government and police argued that they were only acting on reports given to them by the Immigration Office and that they were not just specifically targeting Polynesians.
- They faced scrutiny from the public and Polynesians for these unfair police checks and dawn raids.
