Watch live: Parliament debates Te Pāti Māori MPs' punishment for Treaty Principles haka
Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipa-Clarke was among those to perform a haka, at Parliament, after the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill, on 14 November, 2024.
Photo:
RNZ/ Samuel Rillstone
Parliament will debate the proposed punishments of Te Pāti Māori MPs for last year's Treaty Principles haka when the House sits at 2pm on Tuesday.
The
Privileges Committee recommended suspending
Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer for 21 days.
MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who started the haka but had since expressed contrition, faces a one-week suspension.
If the debate is still going when the House rises at 10pm, Parliament's Speaker Gerry Brownlee will decide whether it takes precedence over members' day on Wednesday or is adjourned until the next sitting day after the Budget, in early June.
All 123 MPs will be allowed to speak, and if any amendment is put forward, they would be allowed to speak again.
Follow RNZ's live coverage of the debate.
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Otago Daily Times
9 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Te Pāti Māori stand down confirmed
Parliament has confirmed the unprecedented punishments proposed for Te Pāti Māori MPs who performed a haka in protest against the Treaty Principles Bill. Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi will be suspended for 21 days, and MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke suspended for seven days, taking effect immediately. Opposition parties tried to reject the recommendation, but did not have the numbers to vote it down. The heated debate to consider the proposed punishment came to an end just before Parliament was due to rise. Waititi moved to close the debate and no party disagreed, ending the possibility of it carrying on in the next sitting week. Leader of the House Chris Bishop - the only National MP who spoke - kicked off the debate earlier in the afternoon saying it was "regrettable" some MPs did not vote on the Budget two weeks ago. Bishop had called a vote ahead of Budget Day to suspend the privileges report debate to ensure the Te Pāti Māori MPs could take part in the Budget, but not all of them turned up. The debate was robust and rowdy with both the deputy speaker Barbara Kuriger and temporary speaker Tangi Utikare repeatedly having to ask MPs to quieten down. Tākuta Ferris spoke first for Te Pāti Māori saying the haka was a "signal of humanity" and a "raw human connection". He said Māori had faced acts of violence for too long and would not be silenced by "ignorance or bigotry". "Is this really us in 2025, Aotearoa New Zealand?" he asked the House. "Everyone can see the racism." He said the Privileges Committee's recommendations were not without precedent, noting the fact Labour MP Peeni Henare, who also participated in the haka, didn't face suspension. Henare attended the committee and apologised, which contributed to his lesser sanction. MP Parmjeet Parmar - a member of the Committee - was first to speak on behalf of ACT, and referenced the hand gesture - or "finger gun" - that Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer made in the direction of ACT MPs during the haka. Parmar told the House debate could be used to disagree on ideas and issues, and there wasn't a place for intimidating physical gestures. Greens co-leader Marama Davidson said New Zealand's Parliament could lead the world in terms of involving the indigenous people. She said the Green Party strongly rejected the committee's recommendations and proposed their amendment of removing suspensions, and asked the Te Pāti Māori MPs be censured instead. Davidson said The House had evolved in the past - such as the inclusion of sign language and breast-feeding in The House. She said the Greens were challenging the rules, and did not need an apology from Te Pāti Māori. NZ First leader Winston Peters said Te Pāti Māori and the Green Party speeches so far showed "no sincerity, saying countless haka had taken place in Parliament but only after first consulting the Speaker. "They told the media they were going to do it, but they didn't tell the Speaker did they? "The Māori party are a bunch of extremists," Peters said, "New Zealand has had enough of them". Peters was made to apologise after taking aim at Waititi, calling him "the one in the cowboy hat" with "scribbles on his face". He continued afterward, describing Waititi as possessing "anti western values". Labour's Willie Jackson congratulated Te Pāti Māori for the "greatest exhibition of our culture in The House in my lifetime". Jackson said the Treaty bill was a great threat, and was met by a great haka performance. He was glad the ACT Party was intimidated, saying that was the whole point of doing the haka. He also called for a bit of compromise from Te Pāti Māori - encouraging them to say sorry - but reiterated Labour's view the sanctions were out of proportion with past indiscretions in the House. Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said the debate "would be a joke if it wasn't so serious". "Get an absolute grip", she said to the House, arguing the prime minister "is personally responsible" if The House proceeds with the committee's proposed sanctions. She accused National's James Meager of "pointing a finger gun" at her - the same gesture coalition MPs had criticised Ngarewa-Packer for during her haka - the Speaker accepted he had not intended to, Swarbrick said it was an example where the interpretation can be in the eye of the beholder. She said if the government could "pick a punishment out of thin air" that was "not a democracy", putting New Zealand in very dangerous territory. An emotional Maipi-Clarke said she had been silent on the issue for a long time, the party's voices in haka having sent shockwaves around the world. She questioned whether that was why the MPs were being punished. "Since when did being proud of your culture make you racist?" "We will never be silenced, and we will never be lost," she said, calling the Treaty Principles bill was a "dishonourable vote". She had apologised to the Speaker and accepted the consequence laid down on the day, but refused to apologise. She listed other incidents in Parliament that resulted in no punishment. Maipi-Clarke called for the Treaty of Waitangi to be recognised in the Constitution Act, and for MPs to be required to honour it by law. "The pathway forward has never been so clear," she said. ACT's Nicole McKee said there were excuses being made for "bad behaviour", that The House was for making laws and having discussions, and "this is not about the haka, this is about process". She told The House she had heard no good ideas from the Te Pāti Māori, who she said resorted to intimidation when they did not get their way, but the MPs needed to "grow up" and learn to debate issues. She hoped 21 days would give them plenty of time to think about their behaviour. Labour MP and former Speaker Adrian Rurawhe started by saying there are "no winners in this debate", and it was clear to him it was the government, not the Parliament, handing out the punishments. He said the proposed sanctions set a precedent for future penalties, and governments may use it as a way to punish opposition, imploring National to think twice. He also said an apology from Te Pāti Māori would "go a long way", saying they had a "huge opportunity" to have a legacy in The House, but it was their choice - and while many would agree with the party there were rules and "you can't have it both ways". Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said there had been many instances of misinterpretations of the haka in The House and said it was unclear why they were being punished, "is it about the haka... is about the gun gestures?" "Not one committee member has explained to us where 21 days came from," he said. Waititi took aim at Peters over his comments targeting his hat and "scribbles" on his face. He said the haka was an elevation of indigenous voice and the proposed punishment was a "warning shot from the colonial state that cannot stomach" defiance. Waititi said that throughout history when Māori did not play ball, the "coloniser government" reached for extreme sanctions, ending with a plea to voters: "make this a one-term government, enrol, vote". He brought out a noose to represent Māori wrongfully put to death in the past, saying "interpretation is a feeling, it is not a fact ... you've traded a noose for legislation".
Scoop
9 hours ago
- Scoop
Poor Countries Set To Pay $22billion For China Debt
Article – RNZ New research from the Lowy Institute shows the world's poorest countries will make record high debt repayments to China this year. , RNZ Pacific Senior Journalist New research from the Lowy Institute shows the world's poorest countries will make record high debt repayments to China this year. The research, released last month, showed China is set to call in US$22 billion for debts from 75 countries assessed by the World Bank as the world's poorest and most vulnerable in 2025. Ten Pacific nations were on the list. China's foreign ministry, meanwhile, denies Beijing is responsible for developing debt. Lowy research author Riley Duke said China had shifted from lead bilateral banker to chief debt collector for the developing world. 'Because of the large amount of lending that China did in the mid-2010s, and the way it structured its loans through its Belt-and-Road initiative, this year, it is seeing a huge spike in repayments,' he said. For Pacific countries that had borrowed from China, Duke said repayment strain was already an issue. He identified Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu as being at higher risk due to respective loans. In Tonga, the impact of Chinese loans had been a 'big political issue' this year. Duke anticipated that about 15 percent of the government's revenue over the next few years would be devoted to debt repayments. 'Last year, Tonga spent more on its debt repayments than it did on health for its citizens,' he said. 'And so when we look at the….forward outlook, there are more challenges on the horizon. There are key development issues across the Pacific that countries and their governments and their people want to be dealing with. 'But instead, these debt burdens are there and they're persistent. 'Again, just to focus on Tonga…. [it] ran five successful budget surpluses in the lead-up to having a big wave of Chinese debt repayments coming in. 'But then it faced huge economic costs from the pandemic, from the earthquake, from cyclones, and so that wiped out all the money that [the government] had put aside.' Duke believed the amount of China's lending into the region was less than a quarter of the level it was in the mid-2010s. 'I'd be surprised to see any new large loans from China in the region, and I think related to that is the broader topic of whether Pacific countries should take on lots of debt. 'Pacific countries have large financing gaps. There's a lot of infrastructure that needs to be built, and sometimes loans are the best way to do that, and ultimately that just comes back to the quality of the project. 'People are a bit afraid of debt, and I think it's a bit…of a dirty word, but if a loan is taken out to finance a project that is good for economic growth, good for a Pacific country [because] it drives connectivity [and] it drives the economy, then it's a good loan, and it's good debt to take on, and it will pay itself back.' He said there had also been a shift in how China engaged with the region. 'China's main form of engagement with the Pacific 15 years ago was lending. I think 80 percent of all of China's development financing to the region was in the form of loans, and that's fallen off dramatically since around 2018.' That shift was due to a range of factors, including increased financing options for Pacific governments, Duke said. 'In 2010, China might have been the only partner offering large-scale infrastructure financing. 'Australia is now offering more financing in that space. The World Bank is offering more financing in that space; there's climate funds that are also offering adaptation projects and adaptation infrastructure. 'So there are more options on the table for Pacific countries than there was previously. And I think that is part of the reason that China's lending has declined.' China's foreign ministry denied Beijing was responsible for developing debt. 'China's cooperation on investment and financing with developing countries follows international practice, market principles, and the principle of debt sustainability,' spokesperson Mao Ning said. 'A handful of countries are spreading the narrative that China is responsible for these countries' debt. 'However, they ignore the fact that multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors from developed countries are the main creditors of developing countries, and the primary source of debt repayment pressure. 'Lies cannot cover truth and people can tell right from wrong.'
Scoop
9 hours ago
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More Than Half Of Voters Back Proposed Penalty For Te Pāti Māori MPs, Poll Suggests
Article – RNZ The Privileges Committee proposed a 21-day suspension for three MPs over the Treaty Principles haka. , Political Reporter More than half of voters consider the proposed penalty for three Te Pāti Māori MPs over the Treaty Principles haka to be either appropriate or too lenient, polling shows, ahead of the debate on the matter resuming on Thursday afternoon. That debate – which had potential to become a filibuster – was cut short when Leader of the House Chris Bishop unexpectedly postponed it last month. The Privileges Committee – which recommends punishments for breaking Parliament's rules – proposed a 21-day suspension for the co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and seven days for MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke. It means no pay, no ability to vote on legislation, and no presence in Parliament for the duration. The latest RNZ-Reid Research poll asked for voters' views on whether the punishment fit the crime. Overall, more people – 37.0 percent said it was 'about right'; while 36.2 percent said it was 'too harsh'; 17.2 percent said 'too lenient', and 9.6 percent said they did not know: a 54.2 percent majority then backing the punishment or thought it should be stronger, in line with the coalition parties' view. The result puts opposition parties – which all labelled the three-week ban disproportionate – in a difficult position. Broken down by voting preferences, more than half of Labour's supporters (51.2 percent) backed leader Chris Hipkins' view the suspensions were too harsh, but a sizeable number thought the punishment fair (29.8 percent) or too lax (8 percent). Greens supporters were more convinced with three quarters (75.3 percent) calling the punishment too harsh, but still 12.4 percent said it was about right and 3.8 percent too lenient. Surprisingly, 9 percent of Te Pāti Māori's supporters also labelled it too lenient, although a clear 80.8 percent called it too harsh, with just 6.2 percent saying it was about right. The results for the coaltion voters were more predictable, far more National, ACT and NZ First supporters saying it was too lenient, compared to those calling it too harsh. But Speaker Gerry Brownlee, of the National Party, appears to be in the latter camp – he called the punishments 'very severe' and 'unprecedented' when setting down the original debate on Parliament's calendar. He pointed out no MP found guilty of contempt had previously been suspended for more than three days. The Privileges Committee recommendation was also only backed by coalition parties, despite convention dictating the MPs on the committee should aim for consensus. Those responding to RNZ's questions may have known these facts from media reporting – or they may not. Bishop's postponement of the debate took the teeth out of opposition criticisms the government wanted to keep the punished MPs from commenting on the Budget – as it turned out, the co-leaders did not speak in the Budget debate anyway. Budget delivered, MPs return to the debating chamber to discuss the punishment after Question Time today. The length of the debate rests ultimately in Brownlee's hands, and he has signalled a willingness to let it continue until all views were thoroughly aired. Whether parties actually want to filibuster – given the poll, and the risk of voters' patience for politicians talking about themselves wearing thin – is far from certain. Hipkins says a few of his MPs will speak, but they will not be running down the clock with endless speeches. The Greens' co-leaders have said they think the MPs should not be suspended, and they plan to scrutinise the decision 'to the highest degree'. But Te Pāti Māori is eager to put the matter to bed. 'Just got to hurry up and get it over and done with and let's sort it out, otherwise we'll be hanging around here waiting and waiting and waiting. Just, they've made their verdict – let's just get it done,' co-leader Rawiri Waititi said. This poll of 1008 people was conducted by Reid Research, using quota sampling and weighting to ensure a representative cross section by age, gender and geography. The poll was conducted through online interviews between 23-30 May 2025 and has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent at a 95 percent confidence level. The report is available here.
