Panther's Rapp

This Panther’s Rapp newspaper was published in February 1975, and was the first issue to be published by the Polynesian Panther Party. It covers the programme of the Polynesian Panthers and issues faced by Pacific communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Polynesian Panther Party (PPP) was founded on 16 June 1971 by young urban Pacific and Māori activists, inspired by the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in the United States. The Polynesian Panthers adapted the iconography of the American movement with military-style berets, black clothing and leather jackets, clenched fists, and the leaping panther symbol.

The aims of the Polynesian Panthers were to highlight the needs of New Zealand’s growing Pacific communities, and the racism and discrimination they experienced. The Panthers informed people of their legal rights, advocated for tenants (leading to the establishment of the Tenancy Tribunal), ran food co-ops and homework centres, helped with prison visits, promoted Pacific languages, held concerts, and supported Māori protests. They exposed and worked to overcome the racial prejudice denying Pacific people equal access to education, employment, health and housing.

The Polynesian Panthers worked to end oppressive police tactics leading up to and including the dawn raids. The dawn raids were the Government’s promise to ‘get tough’ on law and order and immigration in the 1970s. Raids took place in the early hours of the morning or late at night when police would enter homes to convict and deport so-called ‘over-stayers’. Police also stopped people in the street to ask for evidence of their right to be in the country, but the majority of people targeted in this way were Pacific people, despite Pacific people making up only one third of those overstaying their visas. The majority of over-stayers – British, Australians and South Africans – were not subjected to the same demeaning treatment. The Polynesian Panthers provided legal advice to victims and formed the Police Investigation Group (P.I.G.) to observe and follow Police Task Force patrols and raids.

The Panther’s Rapp was part of the PPP’s communications strategy (which included press statements and the successful Legal-Aid booklet written with the help of lawyer David Lange). The Panthers published a newspaper for: '…many reasons directly concerning the welfare of the Polynesian people. We find it necessary to keep our people informed of the many political, social and economic problems that we always face everyday. The P.P.P. knows that the news media as it is today cannot and has not given our people a true picture of the racism here in N.Z. society. It also does not give a true picture of the Polynesian people. Polynesians only make the headlines when some of us are doing bad things. Well we hope this paper will give a true picture because it will represent the Polynesians interests and their true identity. We, the Polynesian Panthers are here to serve our people! We want you to read and support the Panther’s Rapp because it speaks for the Polynesians and the other oppressed people. The P.P.P. have taken upon themselves to inform and speak to our people in many ways; through speeches, letters, actions, community programmes and this newspaper.'