New Zealand’s youngest MP, Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke, made headlines again as she performed a traditional Maori dance opposing a controversial bill during House proceedings.

Maori MP Te Pati, 22, first attracted attention when he performed a haka during his inaugural address last year.

On Thursday, Parliament proceedings were briefly suspended after the MP followed by other MPs staged the protest. Video of the incident shared on social media showed the lawmaker first declaring that she opposed the law and then doing the dance while tearing up the copy of the bill. He was soon joined by other Māori MPs, prompting Speaker Gerry Brownlee to briefly suspend the House.

The proposed bill seeks to reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty between the indigenous Maori and the British, according to Reuters.

Unprecedented and simply magnificent. That time, in November 2024, when a haka led by Aotearoa’s 22-year-old youngest MP, Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke, erupted in Parliament, preventing the Treaty Principles Bill from passing first reading, causing the president to suspend Parliament… pic.twitter.com/pkI7q7WGlr

— Kelvin Morgan (@kelvin_morganNZ) November 14, 2024

The Treaty of Waitangi was first signed in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Maori chiefs, setting out how the two sides agreed to govern. Interpretation of the clauses in the document further guides legislation and policy in the country.

Māori rights and privileges witnessed expansion throughout the decade, which can be attributed to court decisions and a separate Māori tribunal. However, some argued that it discriminated against non-indigenous citizens.

The ACT New Zealand party, an ally of the ruling centre-right coalition government, has introduced a bill to enshrine a narrower interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi into law.

The bill was opposed by Maori MPs from Te Pati who stood up and started a haka, the traditional Maori dance made famous by the New Zealand rugby team.

The controversial legislation is seen by many Maori and their supporters as undermining the rights of the country’s indigenous people, who make up about 20 percent of New Zealand’s total population of 5.3 million.