Government's official dawn raids apology postponed

June 23, 2021
A new mural on the corner of Karangahape Road and Gundry Street pays tribute to the Black Panther Party and the Polynesian Panthers.

The Government's official dawn raids apology scheduled for this weekend in Auckland has been postponed.

The news comes after it was this afternoon announced Wellington is moving to Alert Level 2 due to a visit from Sydney of a person later confirmed to have Covid-19.

The apology was due to take place this Saturday at the Auckland Town Hall.

Many politicians would have been travelling from Wellington for the event, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. The Pasifika community is at high risk from Covid-19.

There have been calls for an apology for the raids recently, with petitions, an open letter and the Human Rights Commission joining the push for an apology.

Social justice group the Polynesian Panthers protested the raids conducted nearly 50 years ago, this year still calling for an apology.

Reverend Alec Toleafoa, who joined the panthers as a 16-year-old, told 1 NEWS earlier this year that "part of the apology is putting to right the injustice that was done, what we'd like to see is recognition of that injustice. We would also like to provide something that is sustainable for our people, following an educative process."

No new date has yet been set for the apology.

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