‘Utmost grace’: Lorde backs MPs’ haka, sweary take on Treaty bill

‘Utmost grace’: Lorde backs MPs’ haka, sweary take on Treaty bill
Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipa-Clarke was among those to perform a haka, at Parliament, after the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill, on 14 November, 2024. Photo / RNZ

Referring to the haka, Lorde said it was carried out with the “utmost grace”.

She then used an expletive to describe the Treaty Principles Bill, which ultimately passed the first reading with the support of the Act, NZ First and National parties.

Lorde has been joined by many other young people around New Zealand and the world; who have left comments on Maipi-Clarke’s social media pages.

Kiwi singer Lorde. Photo / Greg Bowker
Kiwi singer Lorde. Photo / Greg Bowker

One person wrote: “You sparked indigenous people all over the world.”

Another said: “It’s a moment and an action that speaks louder than any other – and it will go down in history, for sure. We’re here for it.”

Speaker Gerry Brownlee – who attempted to stop Maipi-Clarke by saying: “No, don’t do that” – later suspended Parliament and ordered that the public galleries be cleared.

Brownlee later named Maipi-Clarke; saying the actions by the young MP and her party were “appalling” and “disrespectful”.

She was suspended from Parliament’s debating chamber for 24 hours and also had her pay docked.

The young MP shared an email sent to her yesterday by the principal at an all-girls school in Taranaki. The school’s notice board had been changed to read: “24 hours rest & come back stronger wahine toa.”

The principal’s email read: “For being the wahine toa that the young women in our small Anglican Taranaki school need to hear and see.”

Maipi-Clarke said the email had made her day.

“I was suspended from Parliament for 24hrs and deducted salary – and I would do it over and over again if that meant standing up for what’s right.”

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.