Parliament in New Zealand imposes historic penalties on Maori MPs due to haka incident
In a unprecedented move, New Zealand's parliament has issued record-length suspensions to three Maori lawmakers from the Maori Party. Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer were slapped with suspensions of 21 and 7 days respectively, the longest and the third longest in the parliament's history. Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, the youngest current MP, was given a 7-day suspension.
The reason for the suspensions? A passionate protest haka performed during a voting session on a controversial bill called the Treaty Principles Bill in November 2020. The bill aimed to redefine the principles of the key pact between the Maori and the government, which the Maori Party felt would undermine their rights.
In a defiant act, Waititi brandished a noose during his speech, a gesture symbolizing the injustices faced by his ancestors. He stated, "The silencing of us today is a reminder of the silencing of our ancestors of the past, and it continues to happen."
Although haka are commonly seen as ceremonial dances or challenges to authority, their use in a political setting was met with criticism from New Zealand's foreign affairs minister Winston Peters. He called the Maori Party 'extremists' and mocked Waititi's traditional full-face Maori tattoo.
The incident was taken up by the powerful Privileges Committee, which eventually recommended suspensions. Despite being hauled before the committee, the trio refused to participate in the hearing. Their decision and the bans were later voted on and accepted by the parliament.
Maipi-Clarke voiced her dissent, stating, "Yet when we stand up for the country's foundational document, we get punished with the most severe consequences." She compared the suspensions to instances of verbal abuse, physical violence, and disrespect that had previously gone unpunished in the parliament.
The Treaty Principles Bill aimed to reinterpret New Zealand's founding document, a treaty signed between Maori chiefs and British representatives in 1840. Many critics saw the bill as a move to reverse the special rights given to the country's 900,000-strong Maori population. In April 2021, the bill was resoundingly voted down by parliament.
The suspensions have ignited discussions about the balance between cultural expression and maintaining order in the House. Some view the action as necessary to uphold the rules, while others see it as an undue suppression of cultural identity and the right to protest.
- The suspensions of Maori Party lawmakers in New Zealand's parliament, sparked by a prominent haka performance during a voting session on the Treaty Principles Bill, have brought war-and-conflicts and policy-and-legislation to the forefront of general-news discussions.
- The incident has also shed light on crime-and-justice issues, as Maori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke compared the suspensions to instances of unpunished verbal abuse, physical violence, and disrespect in the parliament, thereby highlighting the differential treatment meted out in such cases.
- The car-accidents and general-news sections have also seen coverage on this issue, with experts weighing in on the implications of the suspensions for the balance between cultural expression and maintaining order in the House, a debate that reflects the complexities of politics and the charged context of war-and-conflicts and policy-and-legislation.
