Indigenous Maori lawmakers disrupted New Zealand’s parliament with a powerful haka performance, opposing a contentious bill that seeks to reinterpret the country’s foundational Treaty of Waitangi.
Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, a 22-year-old Maori Party MP, tore up the proposed legislation before launching into the Ka Mate haka, a ceremonial challenge known globally through the All Blacks rugby team. Other Maori Party members joined her on the parliamentary floor in a rare and defiant act of protest.
Speaker of Parliament Gerry Brownlee condemned the interruption as "grossly disorderly," clearing onlookers from the public gallery and temporarily suspending proceedings.
The bill, introduced by a minor party in the coalition government, aims to reframe the Treaty of Waitangi, a 1840 document signed by Maori chiefs and British colonists to establish peace. Critics argue the proposed changes threaten education and social programmes designed for Maori communities.
Despite lacking support from two key coalition partners, the bill has sparked nationwide protests, including a massive "hikoi" march that has grown to an estimated 10,000 participants. Protesters have shut down major highways as they travel toward the capital, Wellington, where they plan to rally at parliament early next week.
Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi accused the government of "waging war on our existence as Maori and on the fabric of this nation."
