Haka interrupts vote on New Zealand Treaty Principles Bill

I'd clarify that she didn't do this during a speech. Debate had concluded on the first reading, and each party was announcing which way their party was voting. Each other party had announced their votes, having all voted as expected, then instead of announcing their votes, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke of Te Pāti Māori (the Māori Party, a political party which focuses on Māori issues) initiated a haka.

This briefly stalled the vote, but the vote was started again and passed before long.

It was pure theatrics. And it was almost definitely orchestrated in advance -- the public gallery was packed out with Te Pāti Māori supporters, who added their voices to the haka. Even the perfect tearing of the paper suggests she probably folded and weakened the paper in advance. But it's clearly cut through. I'm still seeing Hana-Rawhiti all over my feed on other social media sites.

There's been a lot of protest about the bill. There's a hikoi (literally walk, but this is more like a convoy with stops to demonstrate along the way) coming down the North Island to Wellington, which will arrive on Tuesday.

Actually, another great barb from the debate was a co-leader of Te Pāti Māori, Rawiri Waititi (guy with the face tattoos and cowboy hat) telling the sponsor of the bill he will "see you next Tuesday" as he concluded his speech. But I digress.

People have been protesting a lot of this government's actions, but this looks to be the biggest protest so far.

In fact, the Government has stated that this Bill won't pass. As part of a coalition agreement with the sponsor's party, the other coalition parties agreed to support it to first reading, but it needs to go through 3 readings to pass. The leaders of the other parties have said outright they won't support it past this point.

I think what upsets people is that it's inviting debate on something that shouldn't be debated. The Treaty was signed between the Crown and Māori, and then Māori almost immediately cheated out of their rights per the Treaty.

Now a representative of the Crown thinks the best solution is to reinterpret the meaning of that Treaty, so it's about equal rights for everyone, instead of protecting specific rights of Māori. Meanwhile, Māori have undeniably poorer outcomes than other population groups in New Zealand. And many distrust the system, which is understandable given the generations of injustice they've experienced through the system. The Treaty remains an important tool to help fix things for Māori, and this Bill would neuter that ability.

So it won't pass, but the Government is still platforming the debate around it. Some New Zealanders will see something they like in the Bill -- the sponsor frames it as equal rights for all and no special rights based on race. It's an instinctive appealing notion.

Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick had a good line during the debate: "When you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression." I think that illustrates why the Bill might still find public support. Some people -- and this is not a uniquely New Zealand problem -- don't realise how privileged they are, and that that privilege comes at the expense of other groups. So when you try to course correct, and try to combat the systemic problems that have come from people's unconscious (or possibly conscious) bias, people get upset. And there's no easy way to explain it without coming across as a bit harsh.

So the Bill will fail, but the debate will likely continue, with just that bit more legitimacy because a bill made it past its first reading.

But a simple act of defiance like doing a haka in Parliament is proving a great rallying tool for the Bill's detractors. Everybody loves a bit of theatre. Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke ripping that bill in 2 is instantly iconic -- she'll be on protest signs and t-shirts for years to come.