New Zealand Parliament suspends 3 lawmakers who performed Māori haka in protest
- On June 5, 2025, New Zealand Parliament debated proposed suspensions for three Te Pāti Māori MPs who performed a Treaty Principles haka inside Parliament.
- The suspensions followed a Privileges Committee recommendation supported only by coalition parties, while opposition and Greens criticized the penalties as disproportionate or too harsh.
- The Committee recommended suspending Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer for 21 days each, while MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke was proposed for a seven-day suspension; all suspensions include loss of salary, voting privileges, and the right to be present in Parliament.
- Polling from May 23-30, 2025, showed 54.2% of voters supported or wanted stronger penalties while 75.3% of Greens supporters called them too harsh and National and ACT supporters viewed them as too lenient.
- The debate continued with Speaker Gerry Brownlee allowing full discussion, while Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi urged a swift resolution to avoid prolonged delays.
158 Articles
158 Articles
Three New Zealand MPs suspended for performing haka in parliament
New Zealand’s parliament voted to hand out record suspensions to three Indigenous Māori MPs for performing the haka to protest a controversial law. Māori Party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer were handed a suspension for 21 days while New Zealand's youngest MP, Hana-Rāwhiti…
Parliament suspended elected representatives of the Te Pati Maori party for having executed a haka in the Hemicycle, which sparked a national debate on the freedom of cultural expression and the rights of indigenous peoples.
'Punished for being Māori': New Zealand MPs suspended for haka protest - Overpasses For America
Key Points Three New Zealand MPs have been suspended for performing a haka in parliament. They claim they have been punished for being Māori. A parliamentary privelege commitee had recommended the suspension. New Zealand’s parliament agreed on historically lengthy suspensions for three Indigenous MPs who last year performed a haka, a traditional Māori dance, disrupting the reading of a controversial bill. A parliamentary privileges committee in…
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