On Thursday, New Zealand’s parliamentary session opened its doors to a fiery debate when 22-year-old Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke staged a dramatic ‘haka,’ a traditional Māori challenge, tearing apart the controversial bill in the session.
Maipi-Clarke is New Zealand’s youngest MP to come to parliament. Maipi-Clarke performed the haka as protest against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill tabled by the libertarian ACT Party.
The bill has the Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840 by more than 500 Māori chiefs and the Crown, at its heart. It’s an attempt to reform the principles of the treaty so they apply equally to all New Zealanders.
A video of her ripping the bill to pieces, followed by a powerful haka, quickly went viral, garnering support from fellow parliamentarians and the public gallery.
The traditional haka spread throughout Parliament as she was followed by members of the opposition and those in the public gallery. The commotion ended with the chamber being cleared and Maipi-Clarke suspended.
Regardless of the stir she created, the controversial Treaty Principles Bill passed its first reading and now heads into a public submission process before a third round of votes.
Tens of thousands of protesters will march to Parliament this coming week in protest against the bill. Public outrage and vigorous opposition from Māori demonstrate long-standing divisions in New Zealand society.
The bill, its opponents say, undermines the rights of the indigenous peoples, incites racial divisions and reinforces anti-Māori rhetoric.
The ACT party leader and the bill’s author, David Seymour, says his proposal clarifies treaty principles. “What all these principles have in common is that they afford Māori a different set of rights from other New Zealanders,” said Seymour.
He publicly spoke out against the bill, but let his own party vote for it in return for a political agreement with Seymour’s party.
It was touted to be a law that would really ruffle the feathers of members of the opposition. “Shame! Shame! Shame on you, David Seymour,” shouted Willie Jackson, a Māori lawmaker. He finished his speech calling Seymour a liar before he was ejected from the chamber.
By now, the video posted by X account @EndWokeness has garnered over 22 million views. Several users reacted to the video. One stated that he would go in support of the Maori tribe saying: “It is vital to understand and show respect for why the Māori does the Haka in Parliament. It’s more than tradition; it’s an expression of their culture, a call for recognition of their rights, and a proud display of identity.”. Let’s all strive to appreciate and honor the diversity within our communities.
A user commented, “And here I thought politics in America was crazy with candidates getting reporters hurt.” A third user said, “It’s like an episode of the office or parks and recreation.
Last week, a New Zealand party, called ACT New Zealand, and the country’s smallest partner of the centre-right coalition government, proposed a bill that seeks to modify some of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi-an idea which has been strongly opposed by many members of the Maori community.
From the video, ACT New Zealand party responded saying “We are the party this protest was aimed at. We introduced a law that seeks to ensure all New Zealanders get equal rights regardless of their race. The party performing the haka is the Māori Party who, among other things, advocates for a different race-based Parliament, education system, and health system”.
It is the principles set out by the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, which defines the relationship between the government and Māori- rights that confer strong protection for tribes to retain their lands and safeguard their interests while agreeing to British governance-that the bill extends protection to all New Zealanders.
Voice of the Maori people
Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke’s strong move in parliament fits well with her growing reputation as a fierce advocate for Maori rights. She represented Te Pati Maori but made history first as the youngest MP and among the most vocal critics of the conservative government of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who has been accused of dismantling Maori rights.
Much kudos has been earned by Maipi-Clarke through her activism, where she recently appeared in the list of five alternative “preferred Prime Minister” contenders. Her rise was due in her very first speech at the House of Parliament, in which she did the haka while pointing to her commitment to Maori values, and resistance against those policies that she describes as regressive.
Political tensions rise
The controversial bill has only widened rifts in New Zealand’s political sphere. While publicly opposing the controversial bill, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has allowed his party to vote in its favor during its first reading in order to honor a political agreement with ACT Party leader David Seymour.
‘Author of the bill, Seymour claimed that the principles in the Treaty seem to separate because, according to him and his assertion, Maori rights are different from other people’s rights. “No law or court has ever defined these principles conclusively,” Seymour said, alleging his bill fills the “silence.”.
Critics, however, have labeled the decision political opportunism. Veteran Maori lawmaker Willie Jackson was not shy on his criticism either, castigating Seymour as one trying to cleave the nation in two. Te Pati Maori MP Rawiri Waititi cautioned that supporting the bill was tantamount to complicity in the harm done to Māori communities.
Protest shakes New Zealand Parliament
However matters came to a head when Maipi-Clarke initiated her haka protest inside the house. In-unison, opposition MPs as well as spectators joined in making a deafening roar that momentarily held up the proceedings. Desperate to bring order to proceedings, Speaker Gerry Brownlee failed in this and Maipi-Clarke and two other lawmakers were suspended for the day.
The live broadcast of the session was curtailed as protesters approached Seymour’s seat, reflecting the unprecedented tension surrounding the bill.
What’s next for New Zealand?
The bill will now enter a public submission phase, in which Seymour hopes to muster support. But with thousands of protesters set to converge on Wellington, and mounting criticism from Maori leaders, its future is far from certain.
Whereas the Waitangi Treaty has been the glorious symbol of New Zealand’s commitment to bicultural partnership, the recent political storm underlines challenges in reconciling historical promises with the governance of today.
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