Nearly ten thousand people took to the streets in New Zealand to protest the introduction of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill in Parliament. Critics said the bill, if passed, could reverse the rights and other protection mechanisms for the Indigenous Māori people.

The Treaty Principles Bill seeks to revise New Zealand’s foundational agreement with Maori people and is hugely unpopular, with even the prime minister deriding it.

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke of New Zealand’s Māori party rose and began a Haka, tearing a copy of the proposed law in half.

The Treaty of Waitangi, which is the focus of the proposed bill, dates back to 1840 and is considered New Zealand's founding document. The agreement was signed by Māori chiefs and the British monarchy and focused on rectifying wrongs done to the indigenous people when the country was colonized.

A fiery display by 22-year-old Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, New Zealand’s youngest MP, went viral after she ripped up the controversial Treaty Principles Bill during a rousing haka in Parliament.

The New Zealand Parliament was suspended after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill to reinterpret an 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori. The controversial legislation is seen by many Maori and their supporters as undermining the rights of the country’s Indigenous people,

This is the moment New Zealand Maori MPs disrupt parliament with a haka to protest against a treaty bill. New Zealand’s parliament was briefly suspended on Thursday (14 November), after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill that could reinterpret an 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori.