Wild scenes in New Zealand's Parliament as haka stops proceedings

Wild scenes in New Zealand's Parliament as haka stops proceedings

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A 'floor shaking' Haka brought the New Zealand Parliament to a standstill as Maori politicians opposed a controversial bill.

The libertarian ACT Party, a minor partner in New Zealand's National Party-led coalition, has introduced a bill that will radically change how the Treaty of Waitangi is interpreted.

The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand's founding document, an agreement signed between the British Crown and around 540 Maori chiefs on 6 February 1840, and it still governs the relationship between Maori and ruling authorities.

But the ACT claims it grants indigenous Kiwis greater legal and political rights and their bill will bring an end to what they describe as 'division by race'.

The bill has prompted waves of protests and warnings from academics and lawyers that it will negatively impact Maori rights.

These protests spilled over into parliament on Thursday after the bill was introduced two weeks before it was originally due to be scheduled.

As each party was called to provide their votes for the Treaty Principles Bill on Thursday afternoon, Hauraki Waikato MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke of the Te Pati Maori Party erupted into a haka.

A furious Gerry Brownlee, the parliamentary speaker, attempted to stop the performance .

But the entire public gallery and Te Pāti Māori MPs continued with the haka, as Labour and Green MPs stood, appearing to support the protest.

Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi perforemd the haka directly in front of the ACT Party seats, looking directly at their leader David Seymour who has been a vocal proponent of the bill.

The speaker then suspended parliament, later describing the haka as 'grossly disorderly', calling it 'appallingly disrespectful conduct inside the House'

The Treaty Principles Bill has passed its first reading with the support of the National, NZ First and ACT parties.

It will then return to Parliament next year to be voted on again.