Some Newland Zealand members of Parliament protested the passing of a controversial bill by singing and dancing the Maori people’s native Haka (video below).
The performance was initiated by opposition party member Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke after she was asked if her party supported the proposed law. She started by tearing a copy of the bill and soon, the parliament’s floor erupted with the traditional singing and dancing.
Proceedings were suspended following the brief performance. Elsewhere in the capital of New Zealand, Wellington, a Māori group also held protests against the legislation by a peaceful march referred to as a hīkoi.
The new bill if passed will change the Zealand’s standing treaty with the native Maori people. The agreement contained in the 184-year-old Treaty of Waitangi was reached by the Britain and Māori people
The political party that introduced the bill is called the Acts. The party wants the bill passed in order to set a legal framework for the Waitangi Treaty. The proceeds of the treaty have been embedded into common New Zealand laws as a form of reparations for the ills done to the indigenous people during colonization.
Acts claim the offshoots from the Treaty have further divided the country by race.
Currently, the Maori people represent about 17.8% of the 5.2 million population of the country.
