The Polynesian Panther Party was a revolutionary movement founded by New Zealand born Polynesians on the 16th of June 1971.The party was explicitly influenced (as were many other groups and protests) by the US Black Panther Party, particularly Huey Newton’s policy of black unity. They located the causes of Māori and Pacific Island oppression within the exploitative social relations of capitalism. Consequently, the Polynesian Panthers promoted a strategy of liberation based on the complete overthrow of the capitalist system and the social relations necessary for its development. The group greatly increased in profile during an immigration scare campaign in 1975, and the subsequent police raids.
Foundation
The Polynesian Panther Movement was founded in inner city Auckland on 16 June 1971 by six young Pacific Islander men: Fred Schmidt, Nooroa Teavae, Paul Dapp, Vaughan Sanft, Eddie Williams and Will 'Ilolahia. At the time many Pacific Island youth were supporters of Māori political initiatives such as the Bastion Point occupation and Waitangi Day protests, and gained skills in political lobbying and processes which they used to raise the profile of Pacific people in New Zealand. Because of the working-class background of its members the movement concerned itself with issues relating to unequal pay and unsatisfactory working conditions.
Headquarters were established in Ponsonby and the Polynesian Panthers began to organise activities, among them were homework centres for Pacific children, visiting Pacific Islander prisoners as well as providing transport for their families to visit, running programs educating Pacific Islanders on their rights as New Zealand citizens and protesting the eviction of tenants in poor communities by private security firms. Within a few years the movement had expanded nationally with chapters in South Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin, as well as several chapters in prisons.
Activism
The Polynesian Panthers protested the controversial "dawn raids", which were introduced in 1973. The raids involved police storming the homes of people who had overstayed temporary working visas, typically at dawn. Though the majority of people overstaying such visas were from the UK, Australia and South Africa, the dawn raids disproportionately targeted over-stayers of Pacific Islander heritage. In protest, Polynesian Panther members would organise "raids" on the homes of prominent politicians in favour of the policy, surrounding them and chanting with megaphones. The government's dawn raids ended less than three weeks after the Panthers began their counter raids.
In 1975, the Panthers also started a task-force known as the Police Investigation Group Patrol, or PIG Patrol, which was a response to aggressive policies of the New Zealand police force towards Pacific Islanders. Policies of the police at the time included frequently approaching Pacific Islanders and asking to see their passport. Anyone who did not have their passport on their person could be taken to prison and held until their passport was provided. Convoys of police vehicles would frequently approach bars frequently by Pacific Islanders, and were accused of provoking fights. In response, the PIG Patrol monitored police convoys and phoned in their locations.
The last major activism undertaken by the Panthers was protesting the 1981 Sprinkbok Tour. Panther member Tigilau Ness was imprisoned for his role in the protests. Founding panther member Will 'Ilolahia was also arrested for helping organise the protests, and was facing 10 years in prison if convicted. Following a two year trial, he was found not guilty, a verdict that was partially attributed to Desmond Tutu flying from South Africa specifically to act as a character witness for the Panthers. After describing the Panthers as liberators and defender of human rights, and attributing their actions as playing a role in the end of apartheid, a jury took 1 hour and 10 minutes to find 'Ilolahia not guilty. As he was leaving the courthouse, 'Ilolahia states that police threatened him with violence, resulting in him returning to Tonga for his safety. As most of the Panther's duties at the time were organised by 'Ilolahia, his departure from New Zealand effectively resulted in the end of the organisation.