New Zealand passes record suspension of lawmakers over haka

“Are our voices too loud for this house? Is that the reason why we are being silenced? Are our voices shaking the core foundation of this house? The house we had no voice in building ...We will never be silenced and we will never be lost,” she said.
Fucking powerful.
Despite the signing of the treaty in 1840, there were many bloody conflicts between the colonial government and Maori tribes in ensuing years, resulting in the confiscation of large amounts of Maori land. Tensions remain to this day between New Zealand's Indigenous people and the descendants of the Europeans who colonized their country.
Hey nice, journalism with a backbone!
- It feels so weird, and a little scary, to see people praising brave journalism when they're basically just staying historical facts... It's that not normal journalism? 😅
  
  Speaking truth when it could get your life ruined or sometimes even taken by the wicked and powerful will always be an act of bravery.
  
  It's normal for DW or any other global news service, since the added historical context is very important for their worldwide audience.
  
  journalism has been weak for years, basically just a bullhorn for whoever is being interviewed in that moment
  
  Normal journalism requires backbone.
- Hey nice, journalism with a backbone!
  If only more news orgs in America could import that.
  But then, it would probably be blocked by TACO tariffs.
- That woman is amazing. What a response.

Well that sounds like some quality racism over there.
- Are you aware they went into this knowing the consequences? This is why we even know what happened, because it was a protest with real world consequences.
  This is what makes what they did so powerful.
  Any other "race" would face similar consequences.
  Racism isn't dictating every decision. So tired of that take.
  
  Yeah, knowing how the bigots will react makes them jot bigots.
  Like how sundown towns arent racist.
  I don't see why people dont understand this.
  
  Do you realize that half the rules and traditions of parliament are based on Christianity and western colonial culture? How come they’re not all being punished for following their cultural traditions? Why are only the indigenous cultural traditions “disruptive”? Why aren’t you allowed to be disruptive when you’ve been colonized, your people murdered and raped, your race subjugated and your traditions silenced? Sounds like you’re on the side of the status quo, even if the status quo is a bunch of colonial racists
  Im indigenous from Central America, you’re a fool if you don’t realize that every interaction the governments have with indigenous communities are painted with a racist brush. All deal begin from a position where the indigenous are looked down on as the lesser. Every time.
- Do you believe that every party in every parliament in the world should be able to just stop parliament from working instead of trying to actually vote for laws/bills the way they think is right because they are sure that they are right and their voice aren't being heard (even if they are minority in the said parliament or don't have quorum)?
  It was a performance point of which was disruption of parliament session, which was achieved. (I have 0 stakes in this, NZ might as well be in another universe)
  
  These people are underrepresented and standing up for their constituents, suspend them so they can stop doing that!
  
  I think the issue is more that they went from a 3 day suspension being the record high for disruptive behavior to suddenly 21 for these minority members.
  A lawmaker during the arguments said that they had previously given zero suspension to a fistfight, someone driving their truck onto the buildings steps in protest, another member crossing the floor to bump another members desk. But this dance is 21 days.
  
  So don't comment with ignorant babble then.
  
  Do you believe that every party in every parliament in the world should be able to just stop parliament from working instead of trying to actually vote for laws/bills the way they think is right because they are sure that they are right and their voice aren’t being heard (even if they are minority in the said parliament or don’t have quorum)?
  My legislative body has the filibuster and I think it has a useful function, so yes!
  BTW, there's no good reason whatsoever the NZ parliament couldn't have resumed business after the haka. None at all.
  The only reason they didn't was because the leadership decided to feign performative fear and end the session in order to manufacture an excuse to punish the native legislators and exclude them from influencing the budget.
  
  Do you believe that every party in every parliament in the world should be able to just stop parliament from working instead of trying to actually vote for laws/bills
  Plenty of parliamentarians getting kicked out of western parliaments for wearing t-shirts with slogans, holding up signs, suchlike. Suspensions generally are extraordinarily short and little more than "ok we'll give you some time to change into respectable attire". Also make a scene? Add a day. Make them watch from the visitor's benches. Pay attention they don't miss (relevant) votes.
  That would have been the proper reaction: The proper way to handle ritual stunts (and they're a ritual, also the t-shirt thing) is with ritual slaps on the wrist.
  The NZ reaction? They're suspending parliamentarians for unprecedented amounts of time, and on top of that while the budget is being passed. That is, they're fucking with the distribution of votes, which is fucking with the foundations of democracy. That is, for a parliament, nothing less than a declaration of bankruptcy.
  
  You sound like Hillary Clinton talking about being pragmatic (while completely missing the point.) Like people who complain about protesters blocking roads because it inconveniences their commute. Maybe that's your intent or maybe you don't understand that civility can be a form of oppression?
  
  What's a filibuster?
  
  Good lord dot world is filled with the most pathetic fucking losers imaginable
  
  But fillerbusters are appropriate process of disturbing voting that are not a treats to democracy, right?
  There is more to voting than casting a vote.

"a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the house."
Oh go fuck yourself. Can the haka be intimidating as hell? Oh god yes. But you should also be able to recognize the difference between active intimidation and a powerful protest. Especially when YOUR COUNTRY IS KNOWN FOR IT.
- Weirdly their ancestors weren’t intimidated when it came to colonizing and stealing their land.
  
  It's scary now that doing a racism is considered a little more uncouth
  
  I bet they were, right up until they killed everyone.
- They saw it as a threat because they’re threatening the natives way of life and they’re scared of being in the shoes of the oppressed
  
  Something something “when you’re used to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”

I can probably count a million little “traditions” that parliament follows that are based on Christianity and western colonial culture. But a haka is unacceptable
- The ones that try the "it was a declaration of war!!" angle crack me tf up. What do they think buttfucking a treaty is?
- I mean, a surprise pray-in also would have gone over poorly.
  
  Doubt

Tell us you're racist without saying that you're racist.

Racist fucks

Brits oppressing natives
- A tale as old as tea
- "The only reason God created the natives was for us to have a bit of sport, old chap"

And, in 2025, the Pākehā keep deciding what happens to indigenous land and indigenous resources, without letting Maori have any voice in it. Toitū te Tiriti!
- You expected more? She knew it was going to happen, she did it specifically so it would happen and history won't look fondly in their bullshit suspension.

fragile ass white men
- It is still a British colony. They need to ditch the British king Charles as fast as possible.
- Yeah, because that's it...

I get chills every time I've watched this haka being performed. It is such a poweerful statement and this reaction is complete garbage. When the people of your country speak, surely government should be open to listening?
- It made them uncomfortable, and whatever the law actually says, nothing is more illegal than making rich white people uncomfortable.

Here is a metal version of her really impressive protest. How is this not awesome?
https://youtu.be/JddEXEJ8_S0
- Made my day.
- Awesome!
- As an enjoyer of metal, top song! Good on Hana-Rawhiti for protesting.
- OMG that was powerful. I literally am crying right now. How awesome. And often awesome is overused. But, that was awesome.
- Momentarily I thought maybe that's why my old boss thought I was mellow. But just remembered, the guy was Australian! Its a different musical system over there.

What!? But that haka was awesome! How can you not enjoy that?
- There are many enjoyable things that are not appropriate to do in parliament.
  While I personally don't see how performing haka is constructive to include in a debate about the bill, I think it's unrelated to the discussion about what is or is not appropriate in the debating chamber.
  
  not appropriate to do in parliament.
  A vote was suspended and two lawmakers were ejected after the lawmakers performed a haka ceremonial dance in the parliament. The people in the gallery joined in, and the shouting drowned out the voices of others in the chamber.
  Seems like it functioned exactly as intended. Power to the People.

Settler colonial government doing what settler colonial governments do.

Just made it cooler. Didn't even think that was possible
- What about this? https://youtu.be/JddEXEJ8_S0
  
  I love this guy! This is amazing! He should be there for when they return, make an entrance.

'If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.'

Shame. Wtf is wrong with your shitty shitty politics New Zealand?!!?! (Not an American, so I can call out anti-Indigenous politics)
- Not an American, so I can call out anti-Indigenous politics
  Any decent human being can and should call out anti-Indigenous politics, no matter their nationality.
  
  Yes, but I just don’t see anything resembling reconciliation happening in the US vis-a-vis Indigenous peoples there. Like, in the US there doesn’t appear to be any reconciliation, not even symbolic gestures like land acknowledgements at events, or meaningful involvement of Indigenous people in settler politics. Are any elected officials in the US also Indigenous, like - at all?

I know one person from New Zealand and she's racist as fuck.

I don't know anything about New Zealand, or Maori culture, or history, or parliamentary procedure, or the Treaty Principles Bill, or the hearings that led to this decision, or the Haka, or sociology, or anthropology, or race relations, or indigenous issues, but I think...
why don't they just have everyone do their hakas at the start, like in the rugby?

I really hope we do not get another national term.

Unpopular opinion but interruption is interruption no matter the form. I do agree with the native protest here but I wouldn't read into this ruling too much as any governing body would take this position. Weak governing rule set creates these loopholes like the American filibuster which imo is a bug not a feature.

As someone who is half-Maori this just embarrasses me. I don't have a problem with people celebrating their heritage and culture just do it in a more appropriate time and place. I wouldn't have a problem with Irish people celebrating the Saint Patrick's Day just as long as they don't do it during a meeting at parliament.
- Maori lawmakers staged a dramatic protest in New Zealand's parliament on Thursday over a controversial bill that seeks to redefine the country's founding agreement between the indigenous Maori people and the British Crown.
  Seems like as valid a way to protest vile revisionism and cowardly pandering to a foreign monarch.
  
  No it isn't. If this was on the street then it would be fine but this was a place of law and order where if you don't like something you talk about it like an adult. It was totally unprofessional and performative.
- Where i want congress to pick up the old tradition of thowimg raw chicken at each other

I mean, personally I don't really agree with people here saying this punishment is racism.
For me this falls into the same category as walking up to other members of parliament and yelling loudly at them, or breakdancing, or doing anything that disrupts the parliamentary process. I don't think making exceptions for a Haka is reasonable. Parliament has these rules to ensure the room stays calm, collected and can do its work. The Labour party too believes some punishment is appropriate, though they suggested a censure instead.
Most articles refer to a previous suspension of 3 days, but I can't find what that was for. I can't judge if the severity of the punishment is therefore in line with precedent.
It should be mentioned, the bill they protested ultimately did not end up passing.
- This comment right here is the essence of liberal thought
  B..but much process! B..b..but muh decorum!!!!! Please abide the laws we set while we fuck you in the ass!!!!
  No honey, fuck you and your procedure. Instead of hiding behind a veneer of professionalism fuck off and fix the issue.
  Liberals WILL always silence the downtrodden when they no longer play by their rules.
  
  But that same procedure ended up defeating the bill? I'm not sure the protest really achieved much.
  You can fight a bill like this in a 100 ways within parliamentary procedure. If they had announced the protest it would be allowed too I believe.
  Protest is for when the procedure fails. But it worked just fine here.
  Also, arguments about the protest aside, my main point was that it's not racist to punish an unannounced disruptive protest, just because that protest happened to be a Haka.
- disrupts the parliamentary process
  That's the entire point of a PROTEST though...
  
  Yeah but why bother? That same parliamentary process defeated the bill?
  
  Yeah, and it's pretty well established that protest has a cost for it's participants.
- They also should have directed it to the speaker.
  It seems like a silly tradition, but it keeps things from getting too primally heated, and I would have been terrified in those lawmaker's shoes.
  
  You would have been terrified? If you're that scared of brown people, that's your own issue.
  
  Nobody in that video looked in the least bit afraid, just annoyed.

With all due respect to Maori people, these displays are annoying to watch, but I'm of the opinion that there shouldn't be any religious displays in government proceedings.
At least until one of these supposed gods mskescan appearance.
- Haka isn't even religious, what are you on about?
  
  FlashMob there is exhibiting a common bias that the only reason to keep traditional group display behaviours around is if they’re religious. This means they are probably from a settler state where colonialism relied on suppressing local culture.
- You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Describing a haka as a religious display is completely inaccurate.
  I've performed them at weddings, birthday parties, and before every rugby match. It's a display of culture and history.
  
  And yet, still annoying.

I support the suspensions. If all the other members abide by the same rules except for these ones then it makes sense reprimand them for disrupting the duties of parliament. These lawmakers were elected to be the voice of the people they represent. If they're not using their voice to explain why they oppose the bill or what their proposed alternatives are then they're not doing their job. Screaming and tearing up papers is just annoying and wasting everyone's time.
- You are being downvoted because, whether you realize it or not, what you wrote is extremely racist.
  These are Maori. It’s their land and their traditions, and they are being attacked for both by white, authoritarian colonists. It’s unacceptable.
  
  You are being downvoted because, whether you realize it or not, what you wrote is extremely racist.
  If you think what I said was racist then you're an idiot who doesn't know what racism is.
  These are Maori. It’s their land and their traditions, and they are being attacked for both by white, authoritarian colonists. It’s unacceptable.
  Calling New Zealand of all places authoritarian is the dumbest thing I've read all day. No, being Maori or any specific ethnic group doesn't excuse anyone for acting like a jackass. At the end of the day people of all different races live in New Zealand, and that's the way it is and will be. If you hold different standards on how people of different races can and can't behave, then you yourself are racist.
  Keep in mind, we're not talking about regular people here, we're talking about elected representatives. These people studied the political sphere, they campaigned, and they won elections. They understand what their duties are and what the scope of their activity should be. The whole point of their job is for them have civil dialogue with their colleagues on how the country should function. If they can't do that then they're disrupting the functions of the parliament and they should be condemned for it.
- These lawmakers were elected to be the voice of the people they represent.
  https://www.dw.com/en/new-zealand-42000-demonstrate-support-for-maori-rights/a-70816454
  New Zealand: 42,000 demonstrate support for Maori rights
  Thousands turned out despite the bill having little chance of becoming law, saying it was important to show the extent of dissent
  but feel free to keep jerkin it to 'norms and civility', i suppose
  
  I don't think you understand that norms and civility are a requirement for a peaceful, well functioning democracy. If you see them as a nuisance then you're either an authoritarian or an idiot. Like seriously, do you think society is going to function if every self righteous politician start being obnoxious when something doesn't go their way? That braindead mentality is literally how we ended up with Trump and MAGA in the US. It is THE first pillar to fall when on your way to authoritarianism.
  These politicians can support or oppose whatever they want, it's their job to do so. However, disrupting the duties of the parliament is not a part of their job, and they know that. If a couple of white politicians in New Zealand started doing berserker rituals every time something doesn't go their way in parliament, will you still be making excuses? If not, then you hold double standards and you're racist. They're the same people, in the same country, and they should abide by customs that they set for themselves. The New Zealand parliament usually has 120, 117 members with vastly different opinions can conduct themselves just fine, 3 can't. Those 3 got suspended.