Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: When we had hope and change

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  • Graeme Edgeler, in reply to Dave Patrick,

    The Norman Kirk government would provide me with an instant answer for one of those on the whole pretty bad "What makes you proud to be a New Zealander"

    Dawn Raids, not so much.

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 3215 posts Report Reply

  • Dave Patrick, in reply to Graeme Edgeler,

    Dawn Raids, not so much.

    That's very true

    Rangiora, Te Wai Pounamu • Since Nov 2006 • 261 posts Report Reply

  • Hilary Stace,

    Dawn raids occured mainly from the mid 70s under Muldoon. Not sure if prevalent in Kirk's time (up to 1974)?

    Wgtn • Since Jun 2008 • 3229 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Hilary Stace,

    Dawn raids occured mainly from the mid 70s under Muldoon.

    Wikipedia agrees.

    Dawn raids were a common event in Auckland, New Zealand during a crackdown on illegal overstayers from the Pacific Islands from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s. The raids were associated with the policies of the Muldoon government.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Hilary Stace,

    One of the most significant acts of the Labour government was the 1975 Disabled Persons Community Welfare Act, Led by JB Munro, an MP and disability activist, it was intended to extend the benefits of ACC to people whose impairments were not caused by accident.The intention was a comprehensive system of disability supports and services mainly under the Department of Social Welfare. It also included the first standard for accessible building design (eg ramps). All dismantled by Jenny Shipley and Ruth Richardson in 1993.

    Wgtn • Since Jun 2008 • 3229 posts Report Reply

  • Graeme Edgeler, in reply to Hilary Stace,

    Dawn raids occured mainly from the mid 70s under Muldoon. Not sure if prevalent in Kirk’s time (up to 1974)?

    Started in 74, not long before Kirk's death, I understand. Continued under Rowling, and then under Muldoon.

    Did a bit of a search yesterday to try to establish when they ended, but couldn't find anything. Anyone here have the information?

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 3215 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • kay mckenna, in reply to Mike O'Connell,

    That is great to hear that 19 Hillsborough Terrace is still as it was, Mike. We used to live in 21 Which was very similar, weatherboard and arched windows on either side of the fireplace. My parents bought the house at 21 for 13,500$ in the late 60s.
    Almost a year after I had just started walking so about 1972 - I remember dad having a mug of something with the nice big man called Norm next door on what I remember as Christmas Day morning, at the 60's umbrella, table and camping chair set in the driveway. That is how approachable and down to earth Norm was.

    When my mum sold the house in the 90s, she could have got 20,000$ more for it but she didn't want to sell to a developer, and risk having it dozed. We occasionally drive by there to see that 21 is still earthquake solid etc and the present owners and neighbours have improved it's loveliness. We are grateful Norm's legacy and character are maintained in that area.

    I remember that after Norman Kirk lived at 19, the Greenings moved in, who were lovely and kind - grandmotherly. And I think the family that invented Macpac bought the house after them. Then it would have been about 1985 when I lost track of the owners at number 19.

    christchurch • Since Nov 2012 • 1 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Graeme Edgeler,

    Started in 74, not long before Kirk’s death, I understand. Continued under Rowling, and then under Muldoon.

    The dawn raids would have started just after the 1st Oil Crisis threw the Bretton Woods system into disarray, but Muldoon made them even more infamous. And to this day, some people, like Michael Lhaws, likely still think the raids didn’t go far enough.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov,

    I’d say Muldoon laid the groundwork for it

    Thanks DeepRed, makes sense.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • WH,

    That TVNZ backgrounder is fantastic. The woman who mowed her own lawns and did her own plumbing glowed, even in black and white. What a beautiful image of New Zealand. The broader perspective of the interviews with the political journalists really contrasts with the artificial intensity of the 45 seconds they get on the nightly news. Sometimes history feels like a trip to the top of Mount Eden with a particularly yummy salmon and cream cheese bagel and a good coffee, it reminds you of the importance and the breadth of the goals of the progressive project.

    Although I never really heard much about Norman Kirk growing up - maybe it was the upheaval of the twenty years that followed - he was always spoken about with respect in my parent's household. I only recently learned that Kirk sent the Canterbury and the Otago to Mururoa to protest nuclear testing. It seems so in keeping with the better version of the national character, a slightly oblivious but over-ridingly decent thing to do. I can't help a wee chuckle when I think what the French and Americans must have made of it. I suppose they made their position clear when they bombed ships in our ports and broke up ANZUS.

    Since Nov 2006 • 797 posts Report Reply

  • Hilary Stace,

    Can someone who was at the Kirk conference elaborate on what Andrew Little said about extending ACC benefits to those whose impairment is not due to accident? http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7907461/Little-Change-ACC-illness-injustice

    Seems a very good idea and honours the intentions of the Disabled Persons Community Welfare Act that I mentioned earlier.

    Wgtn • Since Jun 2008 • 3229 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Graeme Edgeler,

    Started in 74, not long before Kirk’s death, I understand. Continued under Rowling, and then under Muldoon.

    Did a bit of a search yesterday to try to establish when they ended, but couldn’t find anything. Anyone here have the information?

    The book Tangata o le Moana is quite helpful on this topic. There had been “random checks” on immigration status since 1972, but Kirk stepped up policing in March 1974, in response to a shift in the public mood. Almost immediately, Fraser Coleman, as Minister of Immigration, suspended the raids – partly because of the social outcry and partly because factories in Auckland complained about having their workers arrested.

    Kirk cancelled the issue of entry permits and announced a two-month amnesty for Tongan overstayers already in the country, most of whom eventually went back to Tonga.

    Newspaper editorials – the Southland Times, the Nelson Evening Mail –explicitly blamed Pacific overstayers for the country’s economic predicament and social problems. Muldoon expertly exploited the mood of the times, both before and after becoming Prime Minister.

    The raids officially began again in 1976 (although they were always going on unofficially to some degree). The authors say:

    The significant difference between the 1976 wave of raids and its predecessor of 1974 was that, while widespread condemnation had led to the cessation of the earlier raids, in 1976 there appeared to be widespread approval of the police tactics now employed.

    Incredibly, the revived raids extended to random checks on any people of Polynesian appearance, at work, waiting for buses, at university. Even some National backbenchers broke ranks in their revulsion at the way Muldoon was willing to scapegoat Pacific Islanders for the country’s economic problems.

    Inevitably, Maori were stopped and questioned in the streets. Joris De Bres wrote later that:

    Ministers said that if you don’t look like a New Zealander then you better carry a passport

    Looking like a New Zealander meant being white.

    Frustratingly, the book is vague on exactly when the raids were officially ended.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • merc,

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report Reply

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