New Zealand’s Youngest MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke Goes Viral with Powerful Māori Haka in Parliament

New Zealand’s Youngest MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke Goes Viral with Powerful Māori Haka in Parliament

On Thursday, Maori MP Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke, the youngest sitting MP, staged a daring protest by tearing up a copy of the Treaty Principles Bill while performing the traditional Maori Haka dance. The 22-year-old Te Pati Maori representative’s efforts electrified the session, motivating other members and observers in the gallery to participate in the Haka. Speaker Gerry Brownlee briefly paused proceedings owing to the interruption.

A video of Maipi-Clarke’s resistance has gone viral, as MPs prepared to vote on the bill, which seeks to apply Treaty of Waitangi principles widely to all New Zealanders. Signed in 1840, the Treaty established a framework for Maori tribes to maintain their lands and rights while yielding governance to the British.

Maipi-Clarke, who was elected in 2023, has frequently used her platform to criticize Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s conservative cabinet, claiming that it harms Maori rights. Her outspokenness has gained a lot of attention, with a recent poll ranking her as one of the top five alternative “preferred Prime Minister” candidates.

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The Treaty Principles Bill has caused widespread debate, with limited support and strong opposition due to worries about racial and constitutional issues. Thousands of New Zealanders are protesting across the country this week to oppose the measure, indicating widespread unhappiness.