Last year Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made a formal apology to the Pacific communities that were impacted by the infamous 1970s dawn raids when police raided homes at dawn to find illegal overstayers.
A meeting is to be held at the Orākei marae in Tamaki Makaurau where Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and Pacific leaders and communities will meet to commemorate the anniversary and reflect on the hurt caused in that time.
Polynesian Panther Party Legacy trust chair Fuimaono Norman Tuiasau said that this was going to be a significant event for Auckland, and "in recognising that event we need to move forward".
“We want to build on it, and help other communities that are settling into New Zealand Aotearoa so they don’t suffer the same indignities that we did at the time of the dawn raids.”
'The struggles of Māori'
Tuiasau said he believed the Māori and Polynesian communities could come together to share knowledge as he thought the communities had a lot in common.
“I also think that Pacific people should learn about the struggles of Māori and what better place to do it than at the Ngāti Whātua marae.
“I think that the Māori history still needs to be worked through our education system. Young people need to know what happened after the Treaty of Waitangi.”
Tuiasau said even if art or theatre were used to tell those stories, it would be important to view that history.
Recently he has been a part of an advisory board to the minister of education and he has been personally surprised at how willing the system is to include Māori and Pacific history.
"There is a lot more work to be done but there is a lot of goodwill now more than ever before."