The vote on a bill, which provides for the revision of a treaty concluded with the Maori people, was suspended in the New Zealand Parliament this Thursday, November 14, after MPs performed a haka.
This Thursday, November 14, the New Zealand Parliament was the scene of a heated debate followed by a protesting haka after the reading of a controversial bill which proposes to modify the main lines of the treaty concluded between the Maoris and the Crown of New Zealand, indicates The Guardian.
The Waitangi Treaty, signed in 1840 by more than 500 Maori chiefs and the Crown, has until now governed relations between the government and the indigenous people, covering many fields such as land or cultural law.
But the treaty, translated into two versions (one English and another Maori) – presents several inconsistencies, which, left to the appreciation of each party, have given rise to interpretations.
By tabling a bill aimed at reforming this treaty, ACT New Zealand, a liberal party member of the government coalition, claims to want to rewrite these principles – a decision which has further exacerbated tensions with the Maori people.
An “attack on Maori rights”
Speaking in the House, ACT New Zealand party leader David Seymour criticized the principles of the Waitangi Treaty, which he said “grants Māori different rights from other New Zealanders”.
“The aim of this Bill is to break the 49 years of silence of this Parliament and to set out in law the principles of the Treaty so that they are crystal clear to New Zealanders today,” he said. he declared.
Greeted by groans and exclamations of disapproval, the MP's speech provoked a strong reaction from the opposition parties. “Shame, shame, shame on you, David Symour,” said Labor MP Willie Jackson. “The principles (of the treaty) are clear. They refer to partnership, fairness, active protection and reparation.”
“This bill will undermine Māori rights, but David Seymour continues to propose this disgusting bill,” he added.
Voting on the bill was then temporarily suspended, when opposition parties joined in a haka, a traditional Māori dance, led by Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who rushed to tear up the bill. text.
The MP behind the haka sanctioned
The bill sparked a strong public reaction. Thousands of people are participating this week in a protest march expected to last nine days (called walk in Maori). Departing from the tip of the North Island, the demonstrators are expected to arrive at Parliament on Tuesday, November 19.
More than 40 New Zealand lawyers also wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, and Attorney General Judith Collins, urging them to scrap the bill.
According to the New Zealand daily, The New Zealand Herald, Maori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who initiated the haka, was sanctioned by Speaker of the House Gerrie Brownlie who described her behavior as “appalling” , “disrespectful” and “grossly disorderly”.
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