Green Party Condemns Decision To Suspend Te Pāti Māori Members
The Green Party condemns the unprecedented decision to suspend Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi for 21 days, and MP for Hauraki-Waikato Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke for 7 days.
'This decision is a disgrace and so is this Tiriti trampling Government," says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson.
'Te Tiriti o Waitangi promises protection for people and planet. We've seen hundreds of thousands of people show up in support of te Tiriti, and today Te Pāti Māori members have been severely punished for doing so.
'The severity of the punishment sought by the Privileges Committee was unprecedented and has raised serious concerns on whether this is a new standard that will only apply when haka, waiata, and other tikanga Māori are expressed in the House.
'There was a better way of dealing with this. We must find ways to incorporate the tikanga this country was founded on into our House of Parliament. Instead, Māori have been punished for using tikanga Māori to challenge the Treaty Principles Bill – one of the most divisive pieces of legislation we have seen.
'When those with assumed power think their privilege is under threat, there is a tendency to scream victim. One needn't feel intimidated by the power of upholding te mana i te Tiriti o Waitangi in the face of futile attempts to denigrate it.
'These consensus ignoring, Tiriti trampling, democracy mocking, narrowly supported recommendations from the Privileges Committee bring this House into more disrepute than any haka ever has,' says Marama Davidson.
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