Māori lawmakers in New Zealand interrupt vote on controversial bill with Haka

(WELLINGTON, New Zealand) — Māori lawmakers interrupted a New Zealand parliamentary vote with a Haka on Thursday to protest a proposed law that critics say would erode the land and cultural rights of Indigenous New Zealanders.

When asked how her party’s representatives would vote during the session, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke of New Zealand’s Māori party stood up and began a soaring Haka, a ceremonial Māori dance that demonstrates pride, strength and unity through a series of intricate movements and facial expressions. She ripped a copy of the bill in half as she did the Haka.

About half of the lawmakers present, including members of the Labour and Green parties, joined in, along with members of the public seated in the gallery, their chants echoing through the chamber.

Gerry Brownlee, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, appeared to roll his eyes as the Haka began. Unable to regain control of the room, he later suspended the House and ordered the gallery to be cleared.

He suspended Maipi-Clarke for one day. Earlier in the session, he ejected veteran Māori lawmaker Willie Jackson for yelling “Shame! Shame!” at the representative who proposed the controversial law.

The Treaty Principles Bill proposes reinterpreting the Treaty of Waitangi, an 1840 agreement guaranteeing the Māori certain land and cultural rights in exchange for allowing the British to govern.

Critics of the bill said it will eliminate dedicated land, government seats, health care initiatives and cultural preservation efforts granted to the Maori people under the Treaty of Waitangi. Together for Te Tiriti, a group that advocates for Maori people, said the bill “clears the way for politicians and corporations to have greater control over our communities.”

David Seymour, a Māori lawmaker who authored the Treaty Principles Bill, argued that the existing laws grant Māori people “different rights from other New Zealanders.”

Under the Treaty of Waitangi, lawmakers set up programs to revitalize the Māori language and tackle poor health metrics through a Māori Health Authority.

Although the Treaty Principles Bill is unlikely to pass, leaders, including Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, voted for it in the first stage as part of a political coalition deal, promising they would not allow it to pass any further.

Thousands of New Zealanders marched toward Wellington on Monday to protest the Treaty Principles Bill. The protest is expected to be the biggest race relations march in the country’s history.