New Zealand has suspended three Māori MPs over their ‘intimidating’ haka protest in the parliament last year.
According to BBC, the parliament voted to suspend opposition MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who began the traditional dance for a week, while her party's co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer were banned for 21 days.
The lawmakers from Te Pāti Māori in November 2024 performed the haka, a chanting dance of challenge, to oppose the now-defeated bill which they claimed would reverse Indigenous rights.
The unique protest caught global attention, sparking debate among lawmakers about whether the lawmakers who protested should face consequences and whether to welcome Māori culture in the parliament or not.
‘Punished for being Māori’
Ngarewa-Packer told the BBC that they 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."
During intense exchanges in the parliament on Thursday, June 5, 2025, Foreign Minister Winston Peters was asked to apologise for calling Te Pāti Māori a "bunch of extremists" and saying the country "has had enough of them."
Maipi-Clarke, the youngest MP, while holding back tears, said, “We will never be silenced, and we will never be lost. Are our voices too loud for this house – is that why we are being punished?"
After a heated debate on Thursday, suspension was handed out for the three MPs.
Notably, these are the longest suspensions that any New Zealand lawmaker has ever faced, as the previous record was three days.
