22-year-old New Zealand Lawmaker Who Performed Maori Haka in Parliament Hit With Record Suspension

22-year-old New Zealand MP, Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, who performed the Haka, a chanting Maori dance of challenge, last November to oppose a widely unpopular bill, has been hit with a seven-day ban from parliament.

She was suspended alongside two leaders of her political party, Te Pāti Māori (the Māori party), Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, who were barred for 21 days. These bans represent the longest bans ever issued by the New Zealand parliament, with the previous record being a three-day ban.

Controversial Maori Chant

The MPs had carried out the haka and briefly interrupted parliament proceedings when asked if their Te Pāti Māori or Māori Party supported a bill that sought to redefine the country’s founding treaty with Māori people.

The bill, which was eventually voted down, was one that drew nationwide outrage, with more than 40,000 people protesting outside parliament during the bill’s first reading in November last year.

Responding to the charges, Ngarewa-Packer said, “We have been punished for being Māori.

“We take on the stance of being unapologetically Māori and prioritising what our people need or expect from us.”

“We will never be silenced, and we will never be lost,” Maipi-Clarke, who at 22 is the youngest MP, said at one point, holding back tears.

“Are our voices too loud for this house – is that why we are being punished?”. She concluded.

 

 

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