The New Zealand (Aotearoa) Parliament came to a standstill on Thursday, when representatives of the Māori Party tore up copies of the Treaty Principles Bill and danced a ceremonial Haka in protest.
The dance was led by 22-year-old Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke. She was joined by fellow Māori Party MPs, and many people in the public gallery.
The unpopular bill has been proposed by ACT New Zealand, part of the countries new right-wing coalition government.
Maipi-Clarke was given a 24-hour suspension from parliament over her action.
The bill proposes changes to the Treaty of Waitangi, the colonial treaty between British colonists and the Māori iwis (tribes) in 1840. The original treaty was a trick, with the English version of the document containing significantly worse terms than the Māori translation. The changes to the treaty proposed by ACT New Zealand have been treated with deep suspicion by many Māoris, who make up 20% of New Zealand’s population.
Helmut Modlik, leader of the Ngāti Toa Rangatira iwi, told the RNZ news platform that the Haka was relevant to the parliamentary debate, as the proposed bill had put Māori self-determination at risk.
Māori Party Co-leader Rawiri Waititi said that the party would continue to use “every tool available” to them for debates in the parliament, including the Haka.
