Wellington (TDI): Three Māori Members of Parliament have been hit with record-breaking suspensions after staging a dramatic protest during a vote on a contentious bill last November, a moment that reignited debate around New Zealand’s founding treaty and the voice of Indigenous communities in national politics.
The House handed down 21-day bans to Māori Party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, while Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, New Zealand’s youngest-ever MP, was suspended for seven days.
All three were penalized for their roles in protesting the proposed Treaty Principles Bill, which sought to reinterpret key elements of the Treaty of Waitangi, the historic 1840 agreement between Māori iwi and the British Crown.
During the vote, Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer performed a haka, the traditional Māori ceremonial dance often used to express defiance or unity. Maipi-Clarke tore up the bill and led a protest within the chamber.
“This is how we resist,” said Waititi outside parliament, brandishing a noose as a symbol of colonial injustice, according to AFP. “You’ve replaced the noose with legislation. But we refuse to be silenced.”
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The protest, which was captured on video and widely shared across social media, sparked a fierce political response. The trio declined to appear before parliament’s Privileges Committee, which ruled on the sanctions, the longest in New Zealand’s legislative history.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters didn’t mince words during the fallout, dismissing the protest and mocking Waititi’s traditional moko kauae (facial tattoo), referring to the Māori Party as “extremists.” The comment drew immediate backlash from Māori leaders and human rights advocates.
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Maipi-Clarke, who was just 21 when elected, pushed back forcefully. “Others in this house have sworn, driven cars up the steps of Parliament, even physically touched people and walked away without suspension,” she said. “Yet when we defend the founding document of this nation, we’re hit with the harshest punishment.”
The Treaty Principles Bill was ultimately defeated in a vote this April, following widespread public criticism that it aimed to erode Māori rights.
The controversy around the bill and the protest has placed renewed attention on New Zealand’s ongoing struggle to balance colonial legacies with Indigenous sovereignty.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
