The New Zealand Parliament has voted to impose record suspensions on three lawmakers who did a Maori haka as a protest. The incident took place last November during a debate on a law on Indigenous rights.

New Zealand’s parliament on Thursday agreed to lengthy suspensions for three lawmakers who disrupted the reading of a controversial bill last year by performing a haka, a traditional Maori dance.

Two parliamentarians — Te Pati Maori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi — were suspended for 21 days and one — Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, from the same party — for seven days.

Before now, the longest suspension of a parliamentarian in New Zealand was three days.

  • @Fizz@lemmy.nz
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    42 days ago

    Thats not true at all. 19% is plenty of political power. You dont need 50% of the votes to get political power in our system. If you have 1 seat you have political power.

    • @grue@lemmy.world
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      212 days ago

      If you have 1 seat you have political power.

      Well, until you conveniently get the longest suspension in history right as parliament is about to decide the budget, anyway.

      • @Fizz@lemmy.nz
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        32 days ago

        Maori people arent only a single party. This is 3 MPs from a single party being temp suspended. Maori are 27% of parliament and have MPs in all majority parties. They will still be represented.