thefinalpaperheart reblogged
much better footage of the haka that shut down parliament today
New Zealand's Parliament was briefly suspended on Thursday after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill that would reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori. First signed in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Maori chiefs, the Treaty of Waitangi lays down how the two parties agreed to govern. The interpretation of clauses in the document still guides legislation and policy today. Rulings by the courts and a separate Maori tribunal have progressively expanded Maori rights and privileges over the decades. However, some argue this has discriminated against non-Indigenous citizens. The ACT New Zealand party, a junior partner in the ruling centre-right coalition government, unveiled a bill last week to enshrine a narrower interpretation of the Waitangi treaty in law. As parliamentarians gathered for a preliminary vote on the bill on Thursday, MPs from the Te Pati Maori Party stood and began a haka, a traditional Maori dance made famous by New Zealand's rugby team. Parliament was briefly suspended as people in the gallery joined in, and shouting drowned out others in the chamber.