Protest in New Zealand draws thousands to capital
Over 40,000 people have come to protest outside the parliament of New Zealand against a proposed bill that seeks to reinterpret the country’s founding documents between the Māori people and the British colonisers.
The demonstrations marked the end of a hikoi, or peaceful protest, that lasted for nine-days and made its way through the country. The hikoi had grown to being one of the largest in the history of New Zealand as many participants draped in the colours of the Māori flag marched through the capital Wellington.
It dwarfed the crowd of 5,000 that turned up to fight for land rights in 1975, and doubled the hikoi in 2004 which stood for shore and sea ownership rights. The march brought together activists and supporters who opposed the bill, introduced by a junior member of the governing coalition, the Act political party.
The Treaty Principles bill argued that New Zealand should reinterpret and legally define the principles of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, a document that is seen as fundamental to race relations in the country.
David Seymour, the party leader argued that over time, the treaty’s core values have resulted in racial division rather than unity.
The party’s leader, David Seymour, says that over time the treaty’s core values have led to racial divisions, not unity. “My Treaty Principles Bill says that I, like everybody else, whether their ancestors came here a thousand years ago, like some of mine did, or just got off the plane at Auckland International Airport this morning to begin their journey as New Zealanders, have the same basic rights and dignity,” Seymour, who has Māori ancestry, told the BBC.
But the bill met with fierce opposition, resulting in one of the largest protest marches in the history of New Zealand.
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