's parliament has voted to suspend three Maori MPs following their during a sitting last year. The traditional dance was started by opposition MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who has now been suspended for seven days. Party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer were banned for 21 days.

Hakas are a variety of ceremonial dances in culture made up of vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment. The dance was performed by MPs when asked if their Te Pti Mori, also known as Mori Party, is in support of a bill that looked to redefine the country's founding treaty with Mori people. The Treaty Principles Bill has since been voted down but at the time it sparked outrage across the nation.

Over 40,000 people protested outside parliament during the bill's first reading in November 2024.

We have been "punished for being Maori", Ngarewa-Pack told the . "We take on the stance of being unapologetically Maori and prioritising what our people need or expect from us."

The penalites were discussed during tense exchanges on Thursday, where the Foreign Minister Winston Peters was asked to apologise for calling Te Pati Maori a "bunch of extremists" and saying the country "has had enough of them".

Maipi-Clarke, who is the youngest MP at 22, said "we will never be silenced, and we will never be lost," whilst holding back tears.

"Are our voices too loud for this house - is that why we are being punished?"

Last month, a parliamentary committee proposed suspending the MPs. It ruled that the haka, which temporarily halted parliament, could have "intimidated" other lawmakers.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon rejected accusations that the committee's ruling was "racist". He said the issue was "not about haka" but about "parties not following the rules of parliament".

New Zealand has been recognised for upholding indigenous rights. However, relations with the Mori community have recently been challenged under the current conservative government led by Luxon.

The Treaty Principles Bill which is at the centre of the tension looked to legally define the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, the pact the British Crown and Mori leaders signed in 1840 during New Zealand's colonisation.

Act, the right-wing party which introduced the bill argued that the 1840 treaty needs to be reinterpreted because it had divided the country by race, and does not represent today's multicultural society.

However, critis say that the proposed bill would divide the country and result in the unravelling of necessary protection for many Mori.

The bill led to a peaceful protest march known as a hkoi. The march which lasted nine days, became one of the country's biggest marches ever with 40,000 people participating by the end of it.

The Treaty Principles Bill was voted down 112 votes to 11 in April, shortly after a government committee recommended that it should not proceed.