Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
It was a tense fono held in Auckland this weekend, as Parliamentarians met with the Pacific community to mend the Vā.
The fono was an opportunity for Immigration officials to address the community directly, regarding the ‘out of hours compliance visits’ conducted by Immigration NZ (INZ).
It comes after Lawyer Soane Foliaki revealed in an exclusive interview with Tagata Pasifika, authorities allegedly used “dawn raid” tactics to apprehend his client.
Aupito William Sio exchanged heated words with Pakilau Manase Lua, after Aupito asked the community not to disrespect the government’s dawn raid apology.
Pakilau says, “the apology was for me, my father who’s passed away, all of the overstayers that were passed away for the dawn raid. How dare you come and tell me off on my malae.”
Immigration Minister Michael Wood alongside Minister for Pacific Peoples Barbara Edmonds and other MP’s were also in attendance.
Addressing the attendees Minister Wood said, “we don’t just live in the present. We as individuals, as whanau, as communities have history and what has happened in the past flows through to the present day.
“Trauma has been felt again, even for people who weren’t directly affected by this event…the memories and the hurt of those 1970’s dawn raids came to the surface again and affected people.
“In the end we are the ones who are responsible and must take things on board and make changes where they are needed and these are events we didn’t know about beforehand. I need to say as the Minister of Immigration that I am sorry this happened, it should not have happened.”
Deputy Secretary of Immigration Alison McDonald says the Ministry is in talks with the Ministry of Pacific Peoples to ensure INZ has “cultural competence training.”
McDonald says this training will “enhance what they already know, but to really understand the differences and there are so many things we have to learn…around partnerships and what a partnership is.”
“I really don’t have much to say other than I am really sorry for the hurt and I accept that we broke the trust…I feel really humbled about what people have said.”
Acting Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni made an unscheduled appearance, saying she was there in solidarity with the community.
“Our hearts broke when we saw this unfold last week. It is retraumatising for all of us that are Pacific.”
Minister Sepuloni also asked the community to have faith in Minister Wood, “he took this very seriously, moved very quickly and now Immigration New Zealand has made some important decisions.
“We just need to continue talking because it may take some time to heal.”
Many Pacific leaders and advocates have been pushing for amnesty including Kennedy Maeakafa Fakana’ana’akiFualu aka ‘Tongan Robinhood’. He has helped over 500 overstayers in New Zealand, many of them New Zealand-born children.
“I called out an amnesty for overstayers in return for the apology, I stood by that and I still stand by it today,” he said.
A Tongan elderly couple who were also at the fono were also there to see whether amnesty would be granted. The husband had suffered a stroke and medical costs are expensive for the couple as they are not citizens.
Minister Wood says he knows amnesty is a call from the community, but says he “cannot come here today and tell you that we will tick that off today.
“I want this to be a full and open and genuine discussion so I want to answer questions directly.
“But I will come here today and tell you in good faith and openly and eye to eye with you that this is an issue we are taking seriously and officials have now provided us with information and policy and advice and something that we are considering fully as a government.”
Minister Wood became immigration minister last year and since then he has asked officials to look at this issue, provide the government with advice, research and look at other examples overseas.
