On Thursday, New Zealand’s Parliament was temporarily suspended after Māori lawmakers staged a powerful protest against a bill that seeks to alter the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, a key document in the country’s history. During the bill’s first reading, Te Pāti Māori lawmaker Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke stood up, ripped up her copy of the legislation, and performed a haka, a traditional Māori war dance, in a dramatic expression of opposition.
She was soon joined by other members of the opposition, as well as people in the public gallery, all using the haka to demonstrate their anger and fear over the proposed changes. The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840 between Māori chiefs and the British Crown, is foundational to New Zealand’s laws and policies regarding Māori rights and the redress of historical wrongs.
However, the Act Party, the most right-wing member of the coalition government, introduced the bill in an attempt to reinterpret the Treaty, arguing that the special provisions for Māori people are divisive and unfair. The bill, they claim, promotes inequality by giving Māori special rights based on ethnicity. Critics, including Māori leaders and experts, warn that the bill could undo decades of work aimed at improving race relations and addressing systemic disparities that continue to affect Māori communities, such as poorer health outcomes, higher incarceration rates, and economic hardship.
In response to the protest, Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee temporarily suspended the session, calling the haka “disrespectful.” Maipi-Clarke was also briefly suspended from the chamber. The protest comes as thousands of New Zealanders have taken to the streets in opposition to the bill, marching in the capital, Wellington, to voice their concerns.
Although the National Party, the senior partner in the governing coalition, has tried to distance itself from the bill, it was agreed upon as part of a coalition deal with the Act Party. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, of the National Party, expressed doubt that the bill would progress any further. “You do not negate 184 years of debate and discussion with a single stroke of a pen,” Luxon said, signaling his intention to oppose the bill in the next reading.