Parliamentary session suspended over haka against New Zealand Maori rights bill

ACT Libertarians seek to withdraw some of the guarantees given to these communities in the Treaty of Waitangi 184 years ago

Nov. 14 () –

The New Zealand Parliament has had to temporarily suspend the session in which it was debating this Thursday a controversial bill to review the rights of the Maori population after one of the deputies of the indigenous community has torn a copy of the document and has performed the traditional ‘haka’ as a sign of protest with his party colleagues.

Although the project has achieved the first approval of the Chamber in an initial reading, the incident has raised controversy and has led to the expulsion of two of the Te Pati Party deputies, including Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who started the ‘haka’.

The controversy broke out during a preliminary vote on the project – a procedure that paves the way for its subsequent approval – after it was presented by David Seymour, leader of the libertarian party ACT New Zealand, which is part of the coalition government. .

The training thus seeks to enshrine in New Zealand legislation a “stricter” interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, the country’s founding document. However, this initiative has led thousands of people to take to the streets and stage marches against the measure despite the fact that Seymour himself has accused those who oppose it of fomenting “fear and division.”

For the Maori population, this proposed legislation undermines their rights as New Zealand’s indigenous people, a minority who make up 20 percent of the 5.3 million population.

Protests against the bill have resumed this Thursday for the ninth consecutive day as protesters move from areas in the north of the country to Wellington, the capital, according to information collected by the ABC news network. The march is scheduled to reach the city next Tuesday, when the crowd will hold a massive demonstration.

However, despite the apparent initial support for the legislation, it is expected that it will lack the necessary support within Parliament to achieve its approval and ratification given that the text has only had the support of the ACT and its partners in its first reading. coalition partners: the National Party and the New Zealand First formation.

This support is part of a previous agreement reached by the parties that are part of the Executive, but some of these formations could distance themselves in the face of a second vote – out of a total of three -. These last two parties have indicated that they plan to withdraw their support for the legislation going forward.

THE BILL

This historic bill seeks to redefine the founding agreement between the Maori people and the British Crown, a treaty dating back to 1840 that governed relations between the New Zealand Government and indigenous people and tribes who were promised greater rights over the land in exchange for ceding governance to the British.

The interpretation given to the clauses of the Treaty of Waitangi, signed almost two centuries ago, still guides legislation and Government policies today, although the legislative proposal would reduce the rights of these populations, which have been expanded over the years. decades thanks to various court rulings.

However, some politicians argue that this amounts to discriminatory treatment of New Zealand citizens who are not part of the indigenous peoples. After the signing of the treaty, the differences between the English and Maori texts meant a deprivation of rights for these communities that lasted for decades.

By the mid-20th century, the prevalence of indigenous culture had declined and many tribal lands were confiscated. As the indigenous protest movement emerged in the 1970s, Justice ruled that the document promised these communities participation in decision-making, clear protection of their interests and association with the Crown.