Key Points
- Three New Zealand MPs have been suspended for performing a haka in parliament.
- They argue that they have been penalized for being Māori.
- A parliamentary privileges committee recommended the suspension.
In a historic decision, New Zealand’s parliament has agreed to lengthy suspensions for three Indigenous MPs who disrupted the reading of a controversial bill last year by performing a haka, a traditional Māori dance.
A parliamentary privileges committee in May recommended the suspension of the three Te Pāti Māori parliamentarians, claiming their actions could intimidate other members of the house.
The trio performed the haka last November before a vote on a contentious bill intending to reinterpret an 185-year-old treaty between the British and the Indigenous Māori, which continues to influence the country’s policies and legislation.
The government has approved the suspensions, affecting Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, who will be absent from parliament for 21 days, while representative Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke will step down for seven days.
While the members are suspended, they will not be paid or be able to vote on legislation.
They have been “punished for being Māori”, Ngarewa-Packer told the BBC.
“We take on the stance of being unapologetically Māori and prioritising what our people need or expect from us.”
Maipi-Clarke told parliament ahead of the vote that the suspension was an effort to stop Māori from making themselves heard in parliament.
“Are our voices too loud for this house? Is that the reason why we are being silenced?”
“Are our voices shaking the core foundation of this house? A house we had no voice in building … We will never be silenced and we will never be marginalized,” she declared.
Suspending politicians is rare in New Zealand’s parliament with only three members suspended in the past 10 years, according to New Zealand parliamentary services.
Before Thursday, the longest suspension was for three days, according to New Zealand representatives who spoke earlier in the day.
Judith Collins, the head of the privileges committee and the attorney-general, had previously informed parliament that the haka caused the speaker to halt proceedings for 30 minutes as there was no prior authorization for the performance.
“It’s not about the haka … it is about following the rules of parliament that we are all obliged to follow and that we all pledged to follow,” Collins said.
The opposition Labour party called for a compromise and proposed censure instead of suspension.
Labour considers the suspension to be “inconsistent with the fundamental nature of this democracy,” Labour parliamentarian Duncan Webb said on Thursday.
“This decision is wildly out of step with any other decision of the privileges committee,” said Webb.
