New Zealand defers vote on rare suspension of Indigenous lawmakers

By Renju Jose

SYDNEY (Reuters) -The New Zealand government on Tuesday deferred a vote over the rare suspension of three Indigenous lawmakers from parliament for performing a haka, the Maori ceremonial dance, during the reading of a contentious bill last year.

A parliamentary privileges committee last week recommended temporarily suspending three Te Pati Maori parliamentarians for acting in "a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the house."

The Te Pati Maori members performed the haka last November ahead of a vote on a controversial bill that would have reinterpreted a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori that still guides policy and legislation.

Co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi should be suspended for 21 days and representative Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke for seven days, the committee said.

Chris Bishop, the leader of the house, said delaying the vote would allow the suspended members to participate in the federal budget on Thursday. The vote will take place following the budget, he said.

"Deferring consideration of the debate means all members will have the opportunity to debate and vote on the budget," Bishop said.

Several protesters gathered outside the parliament in Wellington for the vote over the suspensions, and New Zealand media reported they might perform a haka in support of the Maori lawmakers.

Judith Collins, who heads the privileges committee and serves as attorney-general, told parliament that the haka forced the speaker to suspend proceedings for 30 minutes and that no permission had been sought to perform it.

"It's not about the haka ... it is about following the rules of parliament that we are all obliged to follow and that we all pledged to follow," Collins said.

Suspending lawmakers is rare in New Zealand's parliament, with the last occasion in 1987, according to media reports.

The opposition Labour party called for a compromise and proposed censure instead of suspension.

The committee's proposal is "totally out of line with existing parliamentary practice and is disproportionate to the allegations," opposition leader Chris Hipkins said.

"We have never seen a sanction of this nature in New Zealand's history before ... it is disproportionate. A sanction is appropriate, this level of sanction simply is not."

The haka was traditionally a way for Maori to welcome visiting tribes or to invigorate warriors ahead of battle. It is now performed at important events as well as ahead of matches by New Zealand's rugby teams.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry)