New Zealand parliament confirms unprecedented lengthy suspension of Indigenous lawmakers

By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand's parliament agreed on historically lengthy suspensions for three Indigenous lawmakers who last year performed a haka, a traditional Maori dance, disrupting the reading of a controversial bill.

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

The three performed the haka last November ahead of a vote on a controversial bill that would have reinterpreted a 185-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori that still guides the country's policy and legislation.

The government voted through the suspensions, which will see Te Pati Maori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi stood down from parliament for 21 days, and representative Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke for seven days.

While the members are suspended, they will not be paid or be able to vote on legislation.

Suspending lawmakers is rare in New Zealand's parliament with only three members suspended in the past 10 years, according to New Zealand parliamentary services. Before Thursday, the longest suspension was for three days, according to New Zealand representatives who spoke earlier in the day.

Maipi-Clarke told parliament ahead of the vote that the suspension was an effort to stop Maori from making themselves heard in parliament.

“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.

Judith Collins, who heads the privileges committee and serves as attorney-general, had previously 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.

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

Labour considers the suspension to be “inconsistent with the fundamental nature of this democracy,” Labour parliamentarian Duncan Webb said on Thursday.

"This decision is wildly out of step with any other decision of the privileges committee," said Webb.

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 Lucy Craymer; Editing by Kate Mayberry)