Neil Sands
Parliament’s Privileges Committee has set a deadline for three Te Pāti Māori MPs to appear at a hearing about their conduct after the trio ignored what co-leader Rawiri Waititi dismissed as the “silly little rules” governing politicians’ behaviour in the House.
Instead, Waititi’s fellow co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said Te Pāti Māori will hold its own hearing, directly challenging the authority of the Privileges Committee, which they say is refusing to provide a fair hearing to Māori.
The row centres on a haka they performed in the parliamentary chamber during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill in November, alongside Labour’s Peeni Henare.
“We will always stand up for ourselves, especially in the face of what seems to be a never-ending tsunami of hate,” Waititi told reporters after the trio refused to appear at a Privileges Committee hearing on Wednesday.
“This is not about a silly little Privileges Committee and these silly little rules. It’s bigger than that – it’s about us standing up against the tyranny of the majority.”
In response to the no-show, the Privileges Committee, which is chaired by Attorney-General Judith Collins KC, issued a statement saying it expected the Te Pāti Māori MPs to appear at a hearing on April 23 or provide written evidence by that date.
“We are mindful of the seriousness of the matter and have accordingly decided to offer a final alternative date for the hearings of evidence to take place,” the committee said.
The statement did not outline what action the Privileges Committee would take if the trio failed to meet its deadline.
The committee last week ordered Henare to apologise to the House but did not find he was in contempt.
Ngarewa-Packer said Te Pāti Māori’s hearing into the November haka would take place on May 7, but Waititi made it clear the trio had no regrets about their actions.
“We know one thing, we’re not sorry,” he said. “Would we do it again? In a heartbeat.”
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