Three Maori Members from Te Pati Maori are set to remain suspended from New Zealand’s Parliament after performing a standard hymn in opposition of the questionable Treaty Principles Bill. The political privileges committee has recommended a 21-day suspension for group co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and a seven-day suspension for the group’s youngest MP, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke. The shift is being described as the harshest punishment always handed down to elected authorities in New Zealand’s legislative record. The hymn, which Maipi-Clarke initiated during the president’s second reading next November, erupted after she was asked whether the group supported the policy. In a serious time that went viral worldwide, Maipi-Clarke even tore up a backup of the act, prompting Speaker Gerry Brownlee to dismiss her for 24 hours at the time. The commission has today ruled that the MPs ‘ activities may include “intimidated” various lawmakers and disrupted the election process. Committee seat and National Party secretary Judith Collins called it” a really significant matter”, describing the rally as extraordinary in her two years in Parliament. The document also criticised Ngarewa-Packer for allegedly mimicking a gun movement, which she said was rather a “wiri”, a standard appearance rooted in Maori culture. Collins stressed that the punishments were intended to show that for conduct was unethical and would be treated with “utmost sincerity”.
The backlash from Te Pati Maori was sharp and angry. In a social media post, the group said the selection was” the worst sentence handed down Even in our history”, adding,” When tangata whenua resist, imperial power reach for maximum penalties”. MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi described the process as “grossly cruel, cruel, and unjustified”. The Treaty Principles Bill, tabled by the republican ACT Party, aimed to redefine the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi—the foundation partnership between Maori nations and the English Crown. Though it was eventually defeated by 112 seats to 11, it provoked widespread reaction, including a nine-day opposition march and presentations involving tens of thousands across the country. While the Labour Party agreed that the MPs ‘ activities amounted to hatred, it considered the sanctions also serious, suggesting a one or two-day expulsion would have sufficed. The Green Party openly opposed the sanctions, arguing they were overwhelming and may keep Te Pati Maori voters without depiction during a crucial budget session.
