Saturday, March 29, 2025
In an unprecedented move, New Zealand suspends Māori MPs for performing a haka in parliament during a protest against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill.
Three members of New Zealand’s Te Pāti Māori, including co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, as well as the youngest MP, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, have been temporarily suspended from parliament. This follows their dramatic haka protest in November 2024 during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill—legislation widely seen as threatening to Māori rights.
The protest, which included Maipi-Clarke tearing up the bill on the chamber floor, was captured in a viral video that drew hundreds of millions of views worldwide.
The controversial Treaty Principles Bill aimed to redefine the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document signed in 1840. Critics feared it would reverse decades of progress for Māori communities. The bill, introduced by the libertarian ACT Party, triggered the largest Māori rights protest in the nation’s history. Ultimately, it was defeated at its second reading in April.
Despite the bill’s failure, the Privileges Committee released a report on Wednesday recommending disciplinary action against the protesting MPs. Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi face three-week suspensions, while Maipi-Clarke will be suspended for seven days.
The committee claimed the haka, performed during a voting session, disrupted proceedings and could have intimidated other lawmakers. It labeled the protest a contempt of parliament.
“The behaviour discussed is not acceptable and the intimidation of other members is treated with utmost seriousness,” the report stated.
Particularly contentious was Ngarewa-Packer’s haka gesture, which the committee interpreted as simulating a gun—an accusation she strongly refuted, explaining it was a traditional Māori “wiri” movement.
Committee chair and attorney-general Judith Collins called the incident “the worst” in her 23-year parliamentary career.
The suspensions, which include withholding the MPs’ salaries, are set to be confirmed by a vote next Tuesday. The punishment also means Te Pāti Māori will be absent from the upcoming national budget debate.
Te Pāti Māori condemned the punishment on social media, calling it a “warning shot” from colonial institutions. “When tangata whenua resist, colonial powers reach for maximum penalty,” the party said.
While the Labour Party acknowledged the conduct was contemptuous, it argued the penalties were too harsh and proposed shorter suspensions. The Green Party opposed the disciplinary action entirely, deeming it “disproportionate” and a disservice to Māori constituents.
In their defense, the MPs emphasized the cultural and emotional significance of the haka. “In a space debating our rights and interests as tangata whenua, haka was the only way to respond,” said Ngarewa-Packer.
As the debate over Indigenous rights continues, the suspension of Māori MPs raises broader questions about cultural expression, protest rights, and representation in democratic institutions.
