Maori lawmakers stage a haka to protest a contentious New Zealand indigenous rights bill :::: Wellington, New ZealandThe ACT New Zealand party, a junior partner in the country's centre-right coalition government,

New Zealand's Parliament was briefly suspended on Thursday after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill that would reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori.

The bill objects to certain to "ethnic quotas in public institutions," arguing protections for Māori culture defy "the principle of equal rights."

As parliamentarians gathered for a preliminary vote on the bill on Thursday, Te Pāti Māori MPs physically tore a copy of the bill, stood and began a haka.

New Zealand’s parliament was briefly suspended on Thursday after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill that would reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori.

New Zealand's parliament was brought to a temporary halt by MPs performing a haka, amid anger over a controversial bill seeking to reinterpret the country's founding treaty with Māori people. Opposition party MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke began the traditional ceremonial group dance after being asked whether her party supported the bill,

Proposal targets nation’s 1840 founding document that included agreement between Indigenous Maori and British Crown

New Zealand's indigenous community is rallying against a proposed bill that could strangle state support and stoke anti-Maori rhetoric, opponents say.