Maori MPs suspended the New Zealand Parliament session this Thursday. And they did it with one of its most powerful symbols: the “haka,” the traditional dance of the country’s indigenous people that includes shouting and beating on the chest and the ground. A song that was used as a sign of protest to demand the rights of the Maori.
During the session, a bill was passed to reinterpret the principles of a treaty that has governed relations with indigenous peoples since 1840, a controversial proposal that was criticized because it could infringe on their rights, and which has sparked protests, not only among MPs, also in the streets, with demonstrations of thousands of people this Friday.
When Māori Party lawmakers were asked to vote, MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke stood up and began the haka, which was followed by the rest of her colleagues. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Gerry Brownlee, visibly upset, tried to prevent them from continuing but, seeing that it was impossible, he decided to suspend the session and cut the transmission. Additionally, he suspended Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke from Parliament for one day.
The “haka” became fashionable thanks to its use by the national rugby team “All Blacks”. Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi explained in statements to Radio New Zealand that his intention was to defy the government with this action. “We love it when the All Blacks do it, but what happens when they do it in a place where they defy the violence and continued violence of a House that has done it for hundreds of years?” , said the politician.
The project was finally approved in the first round, although it will take two more to become law. It has been referred to the Legislative Justice Committee for consideration within the next six months, as reported in a statement by Justice Minister and proponent of the proposal, David Seymour.
Seymour is part of the ultra-liberal ACT party, which makes up the government coalition led by Christopher Luxon, and which defends the proposal to reinterpret the Treaty of Waitangi – signed in 1840, shortly before New Zealand joined the British Empire – . The treaty, in the Liberals’ view, contains “benefits” for Māori and they see this as coming at the expense of the rest of the population.
The Treaty of Waitangi governs the state’s relationship with Māori, who make up 20% of New Zealand’s population of more than 5 million. Seymour assures that the proposal responds to the “concept of the principles of the Treaty”, which were introduced by the New Zealand Parliament in 1975 without defining them, which, according to him, would have favored this population.
This minority, however, continues to experience institutional discrimination, as well as disproportionately high rates of poverty, incarceration, disease, domestic violence, and suicide, among other problems.
Protesters against the proposal
Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators protesting Seymour’s proposal, some carrying Maori flags and traditional clothing, are heading towards Parliament House in Wellington.
The convoy left on Monday from Cape Reinga or Te Rerenga Wairua, the northernmost point of New Zealand’s North Island and one of the most important places for the Maori, for a tour of several cities in the country .
The legislative project, which if approved after the third reading would result in the calling of a referendum, proposes that the Executive and Parliament have full powers to dictate laws.
