This New Zealand Māori Woman MP Gave A Powerful First Speech, Leading To A Haka That Suspended Parliament
Kaipara spoke first in te reo Māori before switching to English, starting her speech by saying she does not identify herself “as a survivor of colonization” but “as the product of Māori resilience.”
New Zealand’s parliament has been suspended after lawmakers broke out in haka – a traditional Māori war dance and chant – in the public gallery following new member of Parliament Oriini Kaipara’s first speech in Parliament on Thursday, Oct. 9.
42-year-old Te Pati Māori's Oriini Kaipara, a former journalist, was elected in September, representing the Tāmaki Makaurau Māori or Auckland electorate.
Kaipara won the election with 6,948 votes, defeating Labour’s Peeni Henare, who received 3,429.
Kaipara spoke first in te reo Māori before switching to English, starting her speech by saying she does not identify herself “as a survivor of colonization” but “as the product of Māori resilience.”
“I’m not going to stand here and tell you about the impacts of colonization on whānau, hapū, iwi and even on me. That story is well documented,” she said.
“Instead, I will speak of resilience. The resilience of Māori. The resilience that has carried us through generations of struggle and survival. The resilience that has shaped me into the woman, the mother, the grandmother and now the member of Parliament who stands here before you today.”
In her speech, Kaipara expressed gratitude to those who fought to preserve Māori culture and language and called for a future where New Zealand is free of racism, discrimination, trauma and unnecessary suffering.
About 100 people filled the public gallery, including kura kaupapa Māori — Māori language immersion — students who had traveled to witness her maiden speech.
After Kaipara finished her speech, members of Parliament and people in the public gallery sang a planned and approved waiata, a Māori song, to mark her arrival.
When the song ended, one person began a haka, and others joined in.
Speaker Gerry Brownlee interrupted and called for silence.
“No, not that. The guarantee was that it would not be taking place,” he said, before suspending the sitting temporarily.
When Parliament reconvened, Brownlee said the haka was “contemptuous,” adding he would investigate whether anyone inside the House had known it would happen.
In June, the parliament suspended three Te Pati Maori lawmakers, including New Zealand's youngest Māori lawmaker, 22-year-old Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, for 21 days, the longest time in the country’s history, for performing a haka in parliament which a committee found could have "intimidated" other lawmakers.
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