New Zealand Lawmakers Face Unprecedented Repercussions for Performing Haka in Parliament

Three New Zealand MPs who performed a haka in parliament will face temporary suspension, marking the harshest penalty ever issued to parliamentarians. The co-leaders of Te Pāti Māori, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, and the party’s youngest member, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, engaged in the traditional Māori dance during a vote on the controversial Treaty Principles Bill in November. The video of the haka, which included Maipi-Clarke ripping up a copy of the bill, quickly went viral. The bill, introduced by the coalition’s minor libertarian Act Party, proposed a radical reinterpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, causing widespread alarm among Māori people and leading to the largest-ever protest over Māori rights. Despite ultimately being defeated at its second reading in April, the privileges committee recommended suspending Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi for three weeks and Maipi-Clarke for seven days, citing potential intimidation of other legislators and contempt of parliament. Judith Collins, the attorney-general and committee chair, emphasized that this was the toughest punishment the committee had ever issued. The temporary suspensions are expected to be confirmed by vote during a sitting of all lawmakers on Tuesday. However, Te PāTi Māori condemned the suspensions as the “worst punishment handed down ever,” arguing it acts as a warning against resistance to colonial powers. The opposition Labour party deemed the MPs’ conduct a contempt of the house but believed the penalties were “unduly severe.” The Green party opposed the suspensions, arguing they were “completely out of proportion” to the breach and expressed concern about Te Pāti Māori voters not being represented in the house for the budget. The three MPs argued the haka was justified, with Ngarewa-Packer stating, “In a space debating our rights and interests as tangata whenua, haka was the only way to respond for the hundreds of thousands of our people being harmed.”

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/15/new-zealand-mps-haka-parliament-suspended