New Zealand’s parliament was suspended after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a controversial bill to reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty between 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, who make up about 20% of the population of 5.3 million people.

The Treaty of Waitangi was first signed in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Maori chiefs and sets out how the two sides agreed to govern. The interpretation of the clauses in the document continues to guide legislation and policy today. Court rulings and a separate Maori tribunal have gradually expanded Maori rights and privileges in recent decades. However, some argue that this has discriminated against non-indigenous citizens. The ACT New Zealand party, a junior partner in the ruling centre-right coalition government, has introduced a bill to enshrine into law a narrower interpretation of the Waitangi Treaty.