SYDNEY: Thousands March Against Controversial Treaty Principles Bill as It Advances in Parliament.
Thousands of people joined a march towards New Zealand’s capital on Friday, protesting a contentious bill that seeks to reinterpret the country’s 184-year-old founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi. The bill, which passed its first reading in Parliament, has sparked widespread opposition and is now the focus of rallies and a nine-day hikoi (march) from towns across the country to Wellington.
The march is expected to reach the capital by Tuesday.
In Rotorua, approximately 10,000 people took part in the demonstration, according to police. Protesters, many in traditional attire, were greeted by others waving the Māori flag and chanting in defiance.
On Thursday, Māori leaders made their stance clear during the bill’s first parliamentary hearing. In a dramatic show of protest, 22-year-old lawmaker Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke led a haka, a traditional Māori dance, as she tore up a copy of the bill. Several other Māori MPs and visitors from the public gallery joined her in the powerful act of defiance.
The bill seeks to alter the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, a landmark agreement signed in 1840 between the British Crown and over 500 Māori chiefs, establishing the basis for governance. The principles of the treaty continue to guide much of New Zealand’s legislation and policy today.
Introduced by the ACT New Zealand party, a junior member of the ruling centre-right coalition, the bill has ignited fierce debate. ACT argues that the Treaty’s principles give too much influence to Māori, and that some policies designed to uplift Māori are disadvantaging non-Indigenous citizens.
However, Māori and their supporters contend that the bill undermines Indigenous rights, with Māori making up about 20% of New Zealand’s population of 5.3 million.
While the National Party and New Zealand First, coalition partners in the government, have backed the bill through its first reading, both parties have made it clear they will not support it in subsequent stages. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, leader of the National Party, reaffirmed his position on Thursday, saying his party would not allow the bill to progress beyond the first reading, effectively signaling its likely failure.