New Zealand Lawmakers Punished for Haka Protest Against Anti-Māori Legislation

In a historic move, New Zealand’s Parliament suspended three opposition lawmakers on Thursday for performing a haka, a traditional Māori war dance, during a session meant to discuss a contentious piece of legislation last year. The motion passed along party lines, resulting in Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, co-leaders of the Te Pāti Māori party, receiving a 21-day suspension without pay. A third member, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, was penalized with a seven-day suspension for her role in the protest.

These sanctions are deemed the most severe ever issued to New Zealand lawmakers and come amidst a national climate marked by a retreat from advancing Māori rights. Tensions have escalated over recent years regarding the recognition of Māori culture in public discourse. The criticized bill, proposed by a member of the current conservative coalition government, has been labeled as symbolizing a broader anti-Māori sentiment, though it was likely to fail in parliamentary debate.

The protest took place during a reading of the bill in November when Maipi-Clarke stood up to perform the haka and tore up her copy of the proposal. Joined by Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer, the lawmakers executed the performance on the parliamentary floor, prompting Speaker Gerry Brownlee to suspend Maipi-Clarke for a day, accusing the act of being disrespectful.