Speaker Gerry Brownlee suspended the House and ordered the public gallery cleared. Video / Parliament TV
Senior Labour MP Peeni Henare says he stands by his decision to move away from his seat in the House and perform a haka, which ultimately led to him being referred to Parliament’s privileges committee.
Henare was in the hot seat on Wednesday, facing questions from the committee, chaired by National’s Judith Collins.
He apologised to the committee for knowingly breaking the rules and stepping onto the floor of the debating chamber during the first reading of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill.
“I know the rule, with respect to that, and I knew in doing so that I would be breaking that rule.
“The first thing is I stand by my actions of performing the haka that day. If I can offer some context, which is well known to the members of the committee, this, from my perspective, was one of the most divisive bills I have ever seen in my time of 11 years in Parliament.”
The committee, chaired by senior National MP Judith Collins, is tasked with determining whether Henare’s behaviour broke the rules of the House and recommending possible consequences.
Labour MP Peeni Henare during his appearance before the Privileges Committee, including members (from left) Winston Peters, Parmjeet Parmar, Louise Upston, Scott Simpson and Judith Collins. Photo / Mark Mitchell
While several Opposition MPs stood from their seats to join the haka, Henare, Maipi-Clarke and Te Pāti Māori leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer were referred to the committee for moving away from their seats to perform.
After the haka, the House was suspended and the public gallery cleared.
The Treaty Principles Bill, spearheaded by Act leader David Seymour, proposes replacing the many Treaty principles developed o over decades by entities like the courts and Waitangi Tribunal, with three new ones decided on by Cabinet.
The bill was one of the catalysts of the hīkoi to Parliament in November, understood to be the largest protest to Parliament in New Zealand’s history.
“It was also a very heated debate in the House for members who were there that day, and I was certainly one who was interjecting strongly throughout the contributions on that bill.
“In my passion in seeing this bill defeated, I stand by wholeheartedly performing the haka on the floor of the House,” Henare told the committee.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Henare said he would “most definitely” do the haka again if “it was the right cause, if it is the right kaupapa like the one that I believe in like the one on the day I stepped onto the floor, 100 per cent.”
Henare was supported by fellow Labour MP Willie Jackson, who said he was proud of Henare.
Members of Te Pāti Māori perform a haka in front of Act MPs during the first reading of The Treaty Principles bill in the house at Parliament. Photo / Adam Pearse
A spokesperson for Te Pāti Māori said its MPs had been asked to appear at the end of this month as individuals.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Henare described the hearing as his “first trip to the principal’s office” in his 11 years in Parliament.
He invited people to watch the hearing, saying ”haere mai”.
“They summon me, I go. In my 11 years in Parliament, it will be my first trip to the principal’s office.”
Asked if he would have support from whānau at the hearing or expected a waiata to be performed, he quipped: “They might do a haka for me”.
The haka garnered international attention, including millions of views on social media. Maipi-Clarke was “named” and suspended from Parliament for 24 hours for leading the haka. Being “named” is one of the most serious – and rare – punishments in Parliament.
MPs can be referred to the privileges committee if a speaker believes they may have broken the rules of Parliament, breaching privilege. A question of privilege is raised by an MP by making a complaint to the Speaker.
Since the haka late last year, Parliament’s justice select committee has heard 80 hours of oral submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill.
The Act bill is unlikely to become law as National and NZ First have stressed numerous times they will not support it at the second reading.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
