"What Was the Message Behind the Dance and Bill Ripping in New Zealand Parliament?"

New Zealand (The Uttam Hindu): Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke, New Zealand’s youngest Member of Parliament, has once again made headlines with a dramatic protest in the House. The 22-year-old Te Pati Māori MP, who became a viral sensation last year for performing a haka during her maiden speech, interrupted a parliamentary session by tearing up a copy of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill and performing the traditional Māori dance.

A viral video captures the moment during the vote on the bill, where Maipi-Clarke’s actions prompted a brief suspension of the House by Speaker Gerry Brownlee. As she danced, members of the public gallery joined in, amplifying the protest. The bill, introduced last week by the ACT New Zealand party, a junior partner in the country’s centre-right coalition government, seeks to amend certain principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty, signed in 1840 between the British Crown and over 500 Māori chiefs, continues to influence New Zealand’s laws and policies. However, the bill is opposed by many Māori groups, who see it as a threat to their rights and sovereignty.

The proposed legislation has sparked widespread protests, including a nine-day hikoi (march) from the north to Wellington, with hundreds of Māori citizens voicing their disapproval. While the bill passed its first reading last week, the National Party and New Zealand First, both coalition partners, have stated they will not support the bill in its later readings, suggesting that it may not become law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon criticized the bill, calling it overly simplistic and warning that it undermines decades of debate. "You do not negate, with a single stroke of a pen, 184 years of discussion with a bill that I think is very simplistic," Luxon remarked before leaving for the APEC summit in Peru.