Māori Party MPs Face Suspension for Haka Protest

One MP made worldwide headlines last year by leading a haka and tearing up the Treaty Principles Bill during a parliamentary session.

An image of Maori Party MPs leaving their seats to perform a haka on the floor of the debating chamber in New Zealand's Parliament on Nov. 14, 2024. Screenshot of Parliament

Preventing Parliament from voting on the contentious Treaty Principles Bill has resulted in three Māori Party MPs receiving the most severe suspensions ever issued in the 170-year history of the institution.

During the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill on Nov. 14, 2024, the MPs—Rawiri Waititi, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke—performed a haka and advanced towards Association of Consumers and Taxpayers (ACT) Party MPs.

The MPs described the Bill as “grossly unjust” and “reinforcing institutional racism” as it would strip rights given to Māori at New Zealand’s foundation.

However, the chair of the Privileges Committee says their behaviour was “intimidating” and the punishment is deserved.

Party leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer are to be “severely censured” and suspended for 21 days.

MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, the 21-year-old who made worldwide headlines last year by tearing up a copy of the Treaty Principles Bill and leading a haka, will be suspended for 7 days.

Labour MP Peeni Henare, who joined in the haka, has escaped punishment.

The haka is not banned in parliament but requires permission from the speaker to perform, and must not disrupt proceedings.

As a result of the suspension, the three MPs will not be present in the House for the Budget debate, and will not receive a salary while suspended.

The Māori Party noted that the sanctions were “the three longest suspensions in the history of Parliament” in New Zealand. The previous record was three days.

The Māori Party’s representative on the Privileges Committee, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, called the process “unfair, and unwarranted, resulting in an extreme sanction.”

“This was not about process; this became personal,” she said.

The party’s lawyer, Tania Waikato, called it an “absolute disgrace,” and Labour and Green Party committee members also condemned the penalties.

However, Committee Chair Judith Collins, a lawyer who has spent the last 23 years in Parliament, said their behaviour was intimidating and the worst she had seen.

“We’ve never had penalties like this in this Parliament before, but that’s because we’ve never seen this sort of behaviour during a vote in the House,” she told reporters.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. This was a very sad day for Parliament.”

She said interrupting Parliament during a vote was a serious matter and required the Speaker to suspend Parliament for almost 30 minutes to restore order. The majority decision, she said, was a reminder that MPs must obey Standing Orders.

The Māori Party MPs refused to attend the committee’s hearings due to what they claimed was a “lack of procedural fairness,” but provided a written submission, arguing that the haka was a constitutionally protected political expression.

Collins noted that no additional punishment was added for their non-appearance.

The committee’s decision on the suspensions of the MPs still requires approval from Parliament, with a vote scheduled for May 20.

MPs from the National Party, ACT, and New Zealand First are expected to be in favour, meaning it is likely to pass.

The Treaty Principles Bill, which triggered a nationwide protest march and crashed the Parliament website due to the flood of submissions, was ultimately voted down once order was restored, with only ACT Party MPs in favour.