Three Māori MPs suspended from New Zealand Parliament over protest haka
New Zealand's parliament has voted to suspend three Māori MPs following their performance of a protest haka during a sitting last year.
Opposition MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who initiated the traditional Māori haka, a chanting dance of defiance, after being asked if her party, Te Pāti Māori, supported a controversial bill, has received a seven-day ban. The party's co-leaders, Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, have been handed 21-day suspensions.
The protest was sparked by the Treaty Principles Bill, which sought to redefine the principles of New Zealand's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi. The bill, which was widely criticised for potentially undermining Māori rights, was voted down 112 to 11 in April following a committee recommendation against it.
The haka performance in parliament last November drew widespread attention and went viral online. While many saw it as a powerful act of cultural defiance, a parliamentary committee later ruled that the display may have 'intimidated' other lawmakers, leading to the unprecedented suspensions. Previously, the longest ban for any MP in New Zealand had lasted just three days.
Maipi-Clarke delivered an emotional speech in parliament as the suspensions were debated. 'We will never be silenced, and we will never be lost,' she said, as quoted by BBC, holding back tears. 'Are our voices too loud for this house – is that why we are being punished?'
The protest and suspensions have been due to growing tensions between the Māori community and New Zealand's conservative government. During the debate, Foreign Minister Winston Peters called Te Pāti Māori a 'bunch of extremists' and said the country 'has had enough of them,' prompting calls for an apology.
Te Pāti Māori holds six of the 123 seats in parliament. As per BBC, their protest echoed broader nationwide outrage over the Treaty Principles Bill, which sparked demonstrations involving over 40,000 people last year.
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