NZ MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke Breaks Into Haka Dance In Parliament In Protest Against Bill

A vote in New Zealand’s parliament was suspended and two lawmakers ejected on Thursday when dramatic political theatre erupted over a controversial proposed law redefining the country’s founding agreement between Indigenous Māori and the British Crown. Under the principles laid out in the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, which guide the relationship between the government and Māori, tribes were promised broad rights to retain their lands and protect their interests in return for ceding governance to the British. The bill would specify that those rights should apply to all New Zealanders. The bill has scant support and is unlikely to become law. Detractors say it threatens racial discord and constitutional upheaval, while thousands of New Zealanders are travelling the length of the country this week to protest it. Despite its unpopularity, however, the proposed law passed its first vote on Thursday after dominating public discussion for months, due to New Zealand’s proportional representation political system that allows small parties to negotiate outsized influence for their agendas.