Edmonds BarbaraBARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana): Thank you Madam Speaker. Much has been covered in the debate today and I wanted to focus my contribution on the recording of stories and these records in the House of Representatives as future debates will focus on where we go to next. Aue le tautala le leoleo."—"Don't talk or say anything to the police."—words spoken to children by their parents in Porirua East."Aue e galo lau pepa kei kaofi oe le leoleo."—"Don't forget your papers in case the police arrest you."—words spoken by a minister of the Pacific Island Church in Cannons Creek to his congregation. "One of the reasons more Polynesians are prosecuted is that generally speaking they tell tales on one another. Another possible explanation is that islanders who come to New Zealand and overstay have very little cash whereas people from the United States or Great Britain who overstay after a holiday do not look for a job and are not detected."—Minister of Immigration Parliament 1975. "If you have a herd of jerseys and two Friesians the Friesians stand out."—Minister of Police 1976."The Dawn Raids were a racist response generated by a huge decline in New Zealand's economy which exposed the problem with New Zealand's system of immigration and revealed how antagonistic the Government had been towards the Polynesian people who'd come to work for them."—Lucia Bernard aged 15 from Porirua 2021.I was 16 when I learnt of the Dawn Raids. I didn't learn about them in my decile 10 college that I attended; I learnt about them when I was watching a play called The Dawn Raids written by my Uncle Oscar. I was bewildered. Why was I not taught this at school? Why had my family not talked about this? When I undertook Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland under the tutelage of Dr Melani Anae my eyes were opened but my family still did not talk about them. Decades later I understand why.On hearing of the upcoming Government apology my father's brother Malaesa told his story: "The raids and the targeting didn't just happen in our homes. They happened in our workplaces and our schools." My uncle was on the morning shift at the Moore Taylor shoe factory. One early Tuesday morning police and immigration officers undertook checks at his job. My uncle was arrested while other members of my family looked on helplessly. He was taken to court held in a boarding home for two nights on Symonds Street then taken to the Ōtāhuhu Police Station where he was held for a further two nights. On the Saturday he was taken to the airport where my mother and father met him and had a few moments to say goodbye. He was deported back to Samoa.My uncle was confused and frustrated as English was his second language and he did not fully understand what was happening to him. Neither my uncle nor my father had shared the story previously. My uncle said it was not something he wanted to share. He held on to that shame and embarrassment for decades. Two weeks ago my father and my uncles Malaesa and Oscar witnessed the apology in town and I'm grateful they were alive to be able to do so.This is my family's story but there are many other stories. In some of the stories there is the reporting on each other to avoid the heat on your family. Newtown and Porirua were the hot spots for the raids in Wellington. As said to me: "Wherever we brown people were living or congregated we were targeted. Hanson Street Hampshire Street Driver Crescent." As raids were carried out across the region the instructions with the community were the same: "Carry your papers and don't talk to the police." If the knock on the door was heard the instruction was "Ave tamaiti I totonu o le potu moe."—"Take the children to the bedroom. Don't let them be seen or see."The story of a Porirua Samoan woman named Emily is one I leave the House with today. Emily was the chosen one from her siblings to be educated and to carry the responsibility of providing for her family. She was sent to New Zealand on her auntie's papers and legally was a different person. She had the birth date on her papers of 21 January 1935. Emily worked hard to live an honest life. She celebrated her 65th birthday when in fact she was only 58. Her children did not know how much the fear of deportation had sat on their mother's shoulders until she was at the end of her life. Before she died she asked her children to put on her headstone her real date of birth as the threat of deportation wouldn't happen when she died. So let it be put on this record of this House: Sivailoa Emily Mareko was born on 11 January 1942. Like other trailblazers: Toesulu Brown Josiah Benji Lucia Jaistone. Thank you keep up the work. E pala ma'a ae le pala upu—rocks and boulders will crumble but words and promises last for ever."