Jan 29, 2019
the mood today is: furious that NZ doesn’t teach about the Dawn Raids in schools
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the mood today is: furious that NZ doesn’t teach about the Dawn Raids in schools
This is amazing!!
Dawn Raids
Unanticipated inspections by a competition enforcement agency or a criminal investigation agency, also known as dawn raids, can seriously disrupt the functioning of any business. There is also the possibility that this may signal the beginning of lengthy legal proceedings. These may trigger harsh fines, damages claims, and in some jurisdictions, criminal prosecution and imprisonment, as well as the disqualification of directors and a suspension of their powers. There is a high risk associated with taking such actions, including damage to a business's reputation, financial losses, and governmental prosecutions. Following that, there is an increased risk of private claims that can threaten the continuation of the business and the rights of its employees.
There is a possibility of your business being the target of a dawn raid. This may result in you being forced to act immediately to protect your interests under extreme pressure. To be able to arrive at a quick strategic judgment about applying for leniency, however, it is vital that you become familiar with the full extent of the powers and procedures of the relevant authority. By doing so, you will be able to make a more accurate judgment about your case.
Competition authorities have limited powers to conduct dawn raids. Companies and individuals who are subject to dawn raids have certain rights, including the right to privacy, the right not to self-incriminate, and the right to privilege. It is possible to conduct searches and seizures on a wider scale than authorized if these rights are not exercised.
It is imperative to train staff regarding their rights and limits during dawn raids. If they fail to comply with the law, they will be fined for obstruction.
History of Dawn Raid
During the 1970s, Auckland began to experience dawn raids. There is no doubt that the attacks represented a low point in the relationship between the Pacific community and the government. As a matter of fact, I remember back then when the New Zealand Police were instructed by the government to barge into people's homes or stop them on the street and ask for a permit, visa, and passport information - anything that could prove a person's right to enter the country. In the 1970s and 1980s, the blunt instrument was almost exclusively used to apply to Pacific Islanders. This is quite a surprising fact when you consider that most of the overseas from Europe and North America were from those two countries during that time.
What can you do?
In order to ensure that the company's internal response strategy is followed, reception staff should be trained accordingly. At the reception, it may be useful to have a booklet detailing the initial steps.
The inspection team was notified, and a senior member of the internal response team (IRT) was requested and took a copy of the documents and IDs of the members of the inspection team.
Establish a list of all members of the inspection team. Arrange name badges for visitors to the premises clearly indicating that they are members of the inspection team.
As soon as a senior member of staff arrives, it should be communicated to the inspectors that they will be accompanied by a senior member of staff. They should be asked to wait, preferably in an empty meeting room or another appropriate place, while these preliminary administrative tasks are administered.
If there are minimal delays involved, most inspectors will be willing to agree. They will usually be willing to allow you to proceed before they are given an opportunity to complete their work. However, you should keep in mind that they are not legally bound to wait and you should not harass them if they insist on proceeding immediately.
All conversations with the inspection team should be kept to matters of pure administration at that stage. This conversation should not concern the business or the focus of the investigation.
This cartoon shows how the government were discriminative towards those of foreign descent. It also shows how confused the police became with conducting these dawn raids on over-stayers and how flawed these dawn raids were.
tearing up like the lil cry baby I am at ‘Glasgow Girls’. the idea of immigration already makes me cry but seeing on my tv screen and hearing someone else struggle and cry out for help makes me weep, and listening to some of the freakin’ ignorant idiots going about conclusions they’ve made rashly about people they’ve never met, people they’ve stereotyped just makes me angry. dawn raids are disgusting, they’re terrible, they’re frightening. its one of my nightmares.
Dawn Raids: The Ugly Reality
Sione and Setaita are a middle-aged Tongan couple who live with their two sons Tesimoni (20) and Masiu (6) in Grey Lynn, Auckland. They came to New Zealand little more than six months ago, and speak very little English. Both parents work in factories. When the Overstayers Register was opened they all signed. They understood that this would help them stay a little longer, perhaps permanently, and also that they would not need to worry about the police.
On Sunday 31 October 1976 at 6 o'clock in the morning the police knocked on the door while they were all still asleep. Tesimoni went to the door, and was asked for his passport. He told them that it was in the bedroom, and went to get it. The three police officers showed no warrant but walked straight in behind him; Tesimoni showed them his passport and a letter from the Labour Department confirming that he was a registered overstayer. The police then picked up his parents' passports, saw that their permits had expired too and went to wake them up.
Sione woke to find the three policemen in the bedroom and told them to get out of the house but his wife held him back, not wanting to make trouble. The police told them to get dressed and one even stayed with them while they did so. The other two checked every room, asking everyone there for their passports, and arrested two of them.
One woman in the house who spoke English told the police that Sione and Setaita had signed the register, but they told her to keep quiet or she would be arrested too. Then they took Sione, Setaita and the other two away, leaving six year old Masiu crying, distressed and bewildered at what was happening to his mother and father. They were packed into the police car and taken to Auckland Central Police Station, where they were searched, photographed and their fingerprints taken. Setaita asked if she could stay with her husband, but they were put in separate cells. Both were very upset and asked if they could contact their young son but they were not allowed to use the telephone. On Sunday night the police did go back to their home and found the boy still crying, but they gave no message to his parents.
While Sione and Setaita were in the police cells their friends tried to get help. They finally contacted a lawyer at about 10 pm on Sunday night. He telephoned Immigration and was told that the police had the overstayers register. So he rang the police who said that they had no list and anyway there was no need to check because the officer must have checked before arresting them. He persisted however and asked them to look up the register since he understood that Sione and Setaita had signed it. When he rang back ten minutes later the police said they could not find the list, but would not release the couple.
On Monday morning Sione and Setaita were taken to court, where a duty solicitor tried to help them, but they could not understand what he was saying. Meanwhile the lawyer their friends had contacted found that the Immigration officer who was prosecuting had not been able to check the register either, and was therefore going to ask that Sione and Setaita be remanded for a week. The lawyer was not able to get to Court for the hearing but they were not aware that he was acting for them anyway.
When their turn came they were taken into the courtroom together. During the brief hearing they said nothing. They understood very little of what was happening but no-one offered them any explanation or interpreted for them. The magistrate, Mr Gilliand remanded them without plea and set bail at $400 plus two sureties. The Immigration officer who was prosecuting was not sure that he had any case against them and asked whether two sureties were really required but Mr Gilliand snapped back that setting bail was the prerogative of the court, it was not a political matter and he wanted no political arguments in the judicial process.
When the lawyer arrived at court he also tried to have the bail reduced. He asked for a rehearing and just before 12 Sione and Setaita were recalled. Mr Gilliand refused to dispense with the sureties but lowered the bail to $200. Friends tried to arrange the sureties but before they could do so Sione and Setaita were taken back to Court again. This time the Immigration officer told the magistrate that there were no charges against them and so at about 3 in the afternoon they were finally released.
Throughout the whole time from 6 on Sunday morning to 3 on Monday afternoon Sione and Setaita understood very little of what was going on and were continually worried about their child. No one spoke to them in their own language and they hardly had any time to talk to each other. They could not understand why no one seemed to know or care that they had signed the register. When they were finally released no explanation or apology was given, and they were left to find their own way home. The Minister of Immigration, Mr Gill, later apologised on television for the "mistake". The family did not see this and at no time have they received any direct apology or explanation from Mr Gill, his department, or any of the other agencies involved.
Why Did This Happen?
The Immigration Department was at fault in its inept handling of the register and in its callous indifference to the misery its negligence would cause innocent people.
The Police treatment of the family was barbaric - rousing the parents from their bed, standing over them while they dressed and taking them away without explanation. They showed no concern for the welfare of 6 year old Masiu. They failed to check the register even though they were told the couple had signed.
The Court was at fault in not providing an interpreter, and in continuing the unwarranted detention of Sione and Setaita when even the prosecutor was unconvinced that they had broken any law.
Finally, what happened to the human rights New Zealanders once fought for? Police knocking on the door early in the morning and taking innocent people from their beds sounds like Nazi Germany, but it is happening here. Doesn't it matter as long as it only happens to Polynesian citizens? This whole case exemplifies the racism that is deeply entrenched in our institutions, and the gross injustices that stem from it.
Stop police raids & random checks
Amnesty for all overstayers
Prepared by the Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination with grateful acknowledgment to interpreters.
ACORD P.O. Box 47155 Auckland
Published by AMNESTY AROHA P.O. Box 9159 Wellington
This documentary chronicles a shameful passage in NZ race relations: the controversial mid-70s raids on the homes of alleged Pacific Island overstayers. Director Damon Fepulea’i examines its origins in Pacific Island immigration during full employment in the 1960s when officialdom turned a blind eye to visa restrictions. As times got tougher, that policy changed and also led to random street stopping by police — before resistance by activists and media questioning helped to end a policy which has had a long term effect on the Pacific Island community.