A New Zealand government committee has recommended the temporary suspension of three Indigenous lawmakers for performing a haka during the reading of a contentious bill last year.
The Privileges Committee suggested that Te Pati Maori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi be suspended for 21 days each, while Te Pati Maori representative Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke face a seven-day suspension for acting in “a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the house.”
The committee’s report acknowledged that haka, a Maori ceremonial dance, and song are not uncommon in parliament. However, it noted that members are aware that permission from the speaker is required beforehand unless performed during their speech.
Parliament must now vote to approve the suspensions, and the vote is expected to pass with the support of the ruling conservative coalition.
The recommendations stem from a haka performed by the three members and opposition Labour Party member Pene Henare in November ahead of a vote on a bill that would have reinterpreted a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori.
Ngarewa-Packer is also accused of making a hand gesture resembling a finger gun and simulating a firing motion.
The bill has since failed to gain enough support to become law.
Te Pati Maori responded in a statement on Instagram, calling the proposed punishments the strongest ever issued by the committee.
“When Tangata whenua (Indigenous people) resist, colonial powers reach for maximum penalty. This is a warning shot to all of us to fall in line,” the statement said.
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Judith Collins, a ruling lawmaker who heads the Privileges Committee and serves as attorney-general, stated that it was highly disorderly for members to interrupt a vote in progress.
“The right to cast one’s vote without impediment goes the heart of being a member of Parliament. It is not acceptable to physically approach another member on the floor of the debating chamber,” Collins said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Te Pati Maori declined to appear before the Privileges Committee but submitted a written response, arguing that it was appropriate “to rise and haka to express anger and opposition to a subject that is abusive and denigrating.”
Henare appeared before the privileges committee earlier in the year and apologized to parliament.
