Tens of thousands of people have marched on New Zealand’s parliament in a protest in support of Maori rights.
The huge crowds took to the streets of Wellington in opposition to a law that could reshape the country’s founding treaty between the indigenous Maori people and the British crown.
The march was described as likely the country’s largest-ever protest in support of Maori rights.
“We’re fighting for our tamariki [children], for our mokopuna [grandchildren], so they can have what we haven’t been able to have,” Shanell Bob said as she waited for the march to begin.
“It’s different to when I was a child. We’re stronger now, our tamariki [children] are stronger now, they know who they are, they’re proud of who they are.”
The bill the protesters oppose is unpopular and unlikely to become law, but opposition to it has exploded.
It would change the meaning of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi and prevent its principles from applying only to the Maori people – whose chiefs signed the document when New Zealand was colonised.
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Considered New Zealand’s founding document, it laid out the principles guiding the relationship between the British crown and the Maori in two versions – one in English and one in Maori.
The document gave Maori the same rights and privileges as British citizens, but the English and Maori versions differed in the degree to which the chiefs ceded power over their affairs, lands and autonomy.
Over time, the colonial rulers breached both versions, with Maori language and culture dwindling – the country’s indigenous people often barred from practicing it – and tribal land was confiscated.
What’s in the controversial bill?
The bill has been drawn up by the libertarian ACT New Zealand party, a junior partner in the ruling centre-right coalition government.
It seeks to enshrine a narrower interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi which it says discriminates against non-indigenous citizens.
Critics say it is motivated by a desire to reverse decades of policies that aimed to empower Maori people, who make up around 20% of the 5.3 million population.
In recent years, interpretation of clauses in the treaty have frequently guided legislation and policy, with rulings by the courts and a separate Maori tribunal resulting in growing Maori rights and privileges in the decades since independence in 1947.
The bill’s author, libertarian politician David Seymour, says that process of redress, following the earlier decades of breaches of the treaty, has created special treatment for the Maori – which he opposes.
‘We’re going for a walk!’
“We’re going for a walk!” one organiser said from a stage, as crowds gathered at the opposite end of New Zealand’s capital at the beginning of the protest.
Some people taking part had travelled the length of the country over the past nine days.
Diverse groups waited with Maori sovereignty flags at bus stops, which would have usually been occupied by morning commuters.
Youngsters were among those taking part as some schools said they wouldn’t register students as absent if they attended.
The city’s mayor joined in the protest as well as other politicians.
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The Maori haka was performed by protesters as thousands more held signs in support as they lined the streets.
Some carried placards that bore jokes or insults aimed at politicians behind the bill, while others expressed pride in Maori identity, support for the protest or denounced the colonisation of the country.
Police said that about 42,000 people walked to the parliament’s grounds, with some spilling into the surrounding streets.
People sought the best vantage points, with some cramming themselves on to a children’s slide, as others climbed trees.
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The legislation made it through its first vote last Thursday, after Mr Seymour made a political deal.
ACT’s coalition partners, the National Party and New Zealand First, agreed to support the bill through the first of its three readings, but both have said they will not support it to become law.
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Mr Seymour briefly walked out on to the parliament’s forecourt to observe the protest and was booed by some.
