New Zealand Parliament suspends three lawmakers for performing protest haka

Published on 05/06/2025 - 15:49 GMT+2

New Zealand's parliament suspended 3 lawmakers connected Thursday who performed a Māori haka successful protestation against a arguable projected rule that critics said would reverse indigenous rights. 

Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke received a seven-day prohibition and nan leaders of her governmental party, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, were barred for 21 days. 

Their governmental party, Te Pāti Māori, besides known arsenic nan Māori Party, is simply a left-wing governmental group successful New Zealand advocating for number Māori rights. 

A parliamentary privilege committee recommended that nan trio beryllium suspended for acting successful "a mode that could person nan effect of intimidating a personnel of nan House."  

Three days had been nan longest prohibition for a lawmaker from New Zealand's Parliament anterior to this, meaning nan three-week suspension of Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi sets a caller record. 

The 3 politicians performed a haka successful Parliament successful guidance of nan wide unpopular Treaty Principles Bill which they said would beryllium damaging to nan authorities of indigenous peoples.

The measure has since been defeated. 

It sought to legally specify nan principles of nan 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, which is nan pact signed betwixt Māori leaders and nan British Crown during New Zealand's colonisation. 

More than 40,000 group protested extracurricular parliament during nan bill's first reference past year. 

The protestation provoked months of debate among lawmakers astir what nan consequences of nan Te Pāti Māori politicians' actions should beryllium and whether New Zealand's Parliament welcomed aliases weighted Māori culture, aliases felt threatened by it.