Thursday, February 11, 2021

Maori party MP ejected from Parliament

 


Wellington: The co-leader of New Zealand’s Maori party was ejected from Parliament for wearing a traditional pendant called hei-tiki instead of a tie.

Speaker Trevor Mallard twice prevented Rawiri Waititi from asking questions in the debating chamber on Tuesday, insisting that MPs could only ask a question if they were wearing a tie.

When Waititi continued with his question after being stopped a second time, Mallard ordered him to leave.

It’s not about ties, it’s about cultural identity, mate,” Waititi said as he exited the chamber.

However, the next day he was allowed to address the chamber and the Speaker said that ties would no longer be required as part of “appropriate business attire.”

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