Māori lawmakers face possible suspension over haka protest

When 'tangata whenua' resist, colonial powers reach for the maximum penalty,

the party said in a statement, using a phrase for Maori people

This was a very serious incident, and the likes of which I have never seen before in my 23 years in the debating chamber,

said the committee’s chair, Judith Collins

In a space debating our rights and interests as tangata whenua, haka was the only way to respond for the hundreds of thousands of our people being harmed,

Ngarewa Packer said

We acknowledge the severity of the penalties proposed … however, we intend to leave members in no doubt that the behaviour discussed is not acceptable and that the intimidation of other members of the house is treated with utmost seriousness,

the report said

The right to cast one's vote without impediment goes the heart of being a member of Parliament. It is not acceptable to physically approach another member on the floor of the debating chamber,

Collins told a press conference on Wednesday

It frames Maori protest, haka, and the assertion of (Maori sovereignty) rangatiratanga as inherently threatening,

it wrote

It is about following the rules of parliament that we are all obliged to follow and that we all pledge to follow,

she said

The process was grossly unjust, unfair, and unwarranted, resulting in an extreme sanction,

Māori party spokesperson and lawmaker Mariameno Kapa-Kingi said in a statement Wednesday