On Thursday, New Zealand’s Maori lawmakers disrupted Parliament by performing a traditional haka, protesting legislation that would threaten their constituents’ rights. Per the New York Times, the bill, introduced by the country’s most right-wing party, seeks to dismantle the country’s founding treaty with its Indigenous communities. When asked how the Te Pati Maori party would vote on the bill, Maori lawmaker Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke responded by ripping up a copy of the legislation and initiating a haka — the ceremonial Maori dance that includes chanting, stomping, and slapping. In a striking performance, fellow Maori leaders joined her in the haka on the floor, as others watching from the gallery above danced along. Videos of the haka have since racked up millions of views on TikTok as thousands take to the streets of the country’s capital to protest.
Parliament speaker Gerry Brownlee responded by temporarily stopping the session and suspending Maipi-Clarke, who also performed the haka after she was elected last year, the Times reports.
Drafted by the conservative political party known as ACT, the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill argues that special protections for Indigenous New Zealanders stand in the way of “equal rights” for all. In particular, it targets New Zealand’s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, which Maori chiefs and the British Crown signed in 1840, agreeing to work toward reparations for the colonized Maori people. Currently, the Maori make up around 20 percent of New Zealand’s population of 5.3 million, and they already face systemic racial discrimination. To repeal the treaty, Maori lawmakers argue, could be deadly for its people.
Though lawmakers ultimately voted to advance the bill, the Times says it is unlikely to become law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told reporters on Thursday that he intends to strike down the bill during its second reading, adding, “You do not go and negate, with a single stroke of a pen, 184 years of debate and discussion with a bill that I think is very simplistic.”
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