New Zealand MP thrown out of parliament for performing Maori haka in protest against ‘racist arguments’

Rawiri Waititi was also booted out of parliament in February for not wearing a tie

In this screengrab from video, indigenous New Zealand lawmaker Rawiri Waititi, centre, performs a Maori haka in Parliament in Wellington on 12 May, 2021 (AP)

An MP from New Zealand’s indigenous community was kicked out of parliament on Wednesday for performing a Maori haka in protest at what he said were racist arguments.

Rawiri Waititi, who is the co-leader of New Zealand’s Maori party, was taking part in a debate about the government’s plans to set up a new Maori Health Authority.

The creation of the new authority is part of a set of changes that are being brought into the healthcare system, but some conservative politicians have said the plan amounts to segregation. The 40-year-old Mr Waititi, however, said such arguments amounted to racist rhetoric.

Mr Waititi told a fellow MP that he was forced to listen to a "constant barrage of insults" directed toward indigenous people. He said if that kind of attitude was acceptable then he finds the “House in disrepute.”

Mr Waititi, who was standing till then, was asked to sit by speaker Trevor Mallard. Instead, he started to perform the haka.

The speaker then asked him to “leave the chamber”, following which Mr Waititi along with his party’s other co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, walked out.

It is not the first time that the Maori leader has been in conflict with the speaker. Earlier this year, in February, he was asked to leave parliament in a confrontation over the official dress code.

According to the code, Mr Waititi was supposed to wear a traditional Western-style tie for men, which he described as a “colonial noose”. He had instead come wearing a traditional pendant around his neck called a hei tiki.

The following day he won the battle against wearing a tie, ending a longstanding dress requirement in the process, as the speaker backed down. After a committee of lawmakers came out in favour of ending the requirement, the speaker ruled that neckties would no longer be compulsory.

Additional reporting by agencies