Indigenous Maori lawmakers in New Zealand are facing suspension for their disruption of the reading of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill with a protest haka. The disruption occurred in November when Maori Party MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, 22, tore a copy of the proposed legislation while performing the traditional chant.

She was joined by party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, who entered the chamber chanting the Ka Mate haka.

The New Zealand Parliament’s Privileges Committee on Wednesday recommended suspending Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer for three weeks, while Maipi-Clarke faces a seven-day suspension. The Maori Party described the sanctions as some of the harshest ever imposed in New Zealand’s parliament.

They stated, "When tangata whenua resist, colonial powers reach for the maximum penalty," using the Maori term for indigenous people. The party warned that this move serves as "a warning shot to all of us to fall in line."

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters criticized the lawmakers, calling them "out-of-control MPs who flout the rules and intimidate others with outrageous hakas." Parliament is expected to vote on the suspensions next week, with the outcome widely anticipated to support the committee’s recommendations.

The Treaty Principles Bill sought to reinterpret New Zealand’s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840 between Maori chiefs and British representatives. Critics argue the bill aimed to reduce the special rights afforded to the country’s approximately 900,000 Maori people. The bill was decisively rejected by parliament last month.

Lawmakers from the governing majority are expected to approve the penalties in a vote on Tuesday. However, on Thursday, Speaker Gerry Brownlee announced he would allow unlimited debate beforehand, an unusual move prompted by the seriousness of the proposed sanctions.

The viral haka

Footage of the lawmakers' protest drew global attention last November. The bill they opposed was defeated in a second vote in April. Some center-right lawmakers objected to the trio performing the haka while walking toward opponents during the first vote, calling it intimidating.

Māori members of New Zealand’s parliament disrupted the passage of a bill that would reinterpret the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, which uplifts Indigenous peoples. The MPs performed a haka—a traditional Māori dance and chant—causing the session to be suspended. pic.twitter.com/89VhB1aqAS

— red. (@redstreamnet) November 14, 2024

According to the Wednesday report by the committee, “it is not acceptable to physically approach another member on the floor of the debating chamber,” emphasizing that the issue was not the haka itself, a culturally significant Māori tradition, but “the time at and manner in which it was performed.”

The New Zealand committee, which includes members from all parties, ruled on the suspensions despite opposition from some government critics.

“This was a very serious incident, and the likes of which I have never seen before in my 23 years in the debating chamber,” said committee chair Judith Collins.

How did the legislators who were suspended react?

The three legislators didn’t appear before the committee in April, saying Parliament disrespects Māori protocol and wouldn’t give them a fair hearing.

“The process was grossly unjust, unfair, and unwarranted, resulting in an extreme sanction,” said Māori Party spokesperson Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “This was not about process, this became personal.”

The Wednesday report recommended a seven-day suspension for 22-year-old Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, New Zealand’s youngest lawmaker, and 21-day bans for her party co-leaders, Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

Previously, no lawmaker had been suspended for more than three days. Legislators are unpaid during suspensions.

Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer criticized the process as dismissive of Māori principles. Their harsher penalties stemmed from Maipi-Clarke’s letter of “contrition” to the committee, the report said.

Widespread protests

Last November, tens of thousands marched from New Zealand’s far north to Wellington in the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti protest, urging parliament to reject the Treaty Principles Bill, which they say undermines Māori rights and the country’s founding values. About 42,000 people, many dressed in traditional Māori attire, gathered peacefully outside parliament, calling for unity to protect Indigenous rights.

The bill, introduced by far-right ACT Party leader David Seymour, seeks to apply the Treaty of Waitangi’s principles to all New Zealanders without changing its wording, a move critics say threatens Māori special rights.