Wellington:
A New Zealand Maori leader who was ejected from parliament this week for refusing to put on a necktie in the chamber mentioned forcing him to a Western dress code was a breach of his rights and an try to suppress indigenous culture.
On Tuesday, Speaker Trevor Mallard twice prevented Rawiri Waititi from asking concerns in the debating chamber, insisting that MPs could only ask a query if they have been wearing a tie.
When Waititi continued with his query soon after becoming stopped a second time, Mallard ordered him to leave.
“It’s not about ties, it’s about cultural identity, mate,” Waititi mentioned as he exited the chamber.
The New Zealand parliament is the most inclusive ever elected in the nation. Nearly half of the 120 seats in parliament are held by females.
It has a 11% LGBTQI representation and 21% Maori representation. The parliament saw its 1st MP of African origin and of Sri Lankan origin soon after the election final October.
Waititi, who has named ties “a colonial noose,” was told final year that he would be ejected from the House if he did not put on one. On Tuesday he wore a taonga, a Maori greenstone pendant, as an alternative.
Mallard mentioned on Tuesday that though ties have been outdated in his view, an overwhelming majority of members asked that the rule be retained in consultations on the situation in the final couple of months.
Writing in the New Zealand Herald on Wednesday, Waititi mentioned his action was not about ties, but about the suitable of Māori to be Māori, no matter if in Parliament or in the pub.
“I took off the colonial tie as a sign that it continued to colonise, to choke and to suppress out Māori rights that Mallard suggests gives us all equality,” Waititi mentioned.
“This is about more than just the tie or the taonga, this has everything to do with equality.”
Asked to comment, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern mentioned that it was not a thing she had a sturdy opinion on, and that she had no objection to an individual wearing a tie in parliament or not.
“There are much more important issues for all of us,” Ardern mentioned.
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