Opposition parties have called for a tikanga committee for Parliament following last night’s vote on record suspensions for three Te Pāti Māori MPs who performed a haka to protest the Treaty Principles Bill.
Speaking to 1News after the debate, Labour MP Willie Jackson said Speaker Gerry Brownlee should put a tikanga committee in place to be chaired by fellow Labour MP Adrian Rurawhe.
Jackson said he was worried the New Zealand Parliament would be “misrepresented around the world” over “the worst suspension” in its history.
“That would be disgraceful, given the amount of offences and what’s gone on in this House for many years.”
He said Parliament could be perceived as being “absolutely racist, which it is not”. He acknowledged efforts were being made, but not enough.
“But if we put Adrian Rurawhe there chairing a Tikanga Committee, we’ll be on track.”
During the debate, he called on the house to consider a tikanga committee that “all MPs” could work on, to go through Parliament’s processes in terms of tikanga Māori and tikanga Pākehā and “come up with a sensible way and strategy going forward”.
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said her party would have preferred to pause the Privileges Committee proceedings until the tikanga committee could evaluate the “incorporation of tikanga in Parliament”.
“This would then allow the Privileges Committee to evaluate the conduct of MPs with any new Standing Orders that arise from this work.”
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said the Privileges Committee was not “fit for purpose” and a tikanga committee should have enacted the decision, the discussions and feedback.
1News sought a response from Speaker Gerry Brownlee to Jackson’s request for a tikanga committee chaired by Rurawhe. Brownlee’s office said: “Mr Speaker has no comment.”
Other members of Parliament made reference to the importance of a discussion on tikanga during last night’s debate.
Interpreting the haka with ‘no experience or knowledge’
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said it was an “absolute insult” to Māori to hear people with no experience or knowledge about haka interpret the haka.
“Whether they believe it disorderly, whether they believe it violent, it is an absolute insult to sit here and listen to peoples’ interpretation of haka.”
ACT MP Karen Chhour agreed discussion around tikanga, te ao Māori, and “all those other issues” may need to be addressed in the future.
Green MP Ricardo Menendez-March said he welcomed the call to review the rules of Parliament to better incorporate tikanga.
Labour MP Arena Williams said the debate wasn’t just about disorder but the “discomfort that happens when Māori protest in a way that the House hasn’t learned to accommodate”.
“Let’s learn from this. Let’s bring tikanga into our practice. Let’s do our best to understand it, so that we can represent the people who need us.”
Haka echoed through Parliament and beyond
Last night’s vote brings to a close a six-month-long process that has resulted in a 21-day suspension for Te Pāti Māori leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and a seven-day suspension for MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke.
In November, the three MPs and Labour MP Peeni Henare performed a haka in response to the first reading of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill.
Henare appeared in front of the Privileges Committee in March, and it was recommended he apologise to the House.
The three MPs for Te Pati Māori were referred to the committee but ignored initial summons to appear in-person, claiming an injustice as they had been denied legal representation and were unable to appear together.
Last month, the Privileges Committee found the trio had acted “in a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the House in the discharge of their duty”.
The report said it was not acceptable to approach other members on the debating floor and “particularly unacceptable” for Ngarewa-Packer to “to appear to simulate firing a gun” at another member of Parliament.
The committee’s recommended suspensions drew criticism from the three Opposition parties.
The Speaker said it was “unprecedented”, and that no member of Parliament has been suspended for more than three days since it first sat in 1854.
He said it was important all perspectives and views were shared before a decision was made on the recommendation, meaning all MPs would be able to voice their opinion if they wished.
The debate was initially set to take place on Budget Day (May 20), but Leader of the House Chris Bishop deferred it to last night.
