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“We’ve never had penalties like this in this Parliament before, but that’s because we’ve never seen this sort of behaviour during a vote in the House. I’ve never seen anything like it. This was a very sad day for Parliament,” were the words of Privilege’s Committee member Judith Collins as Te Pāti Māori MPs were suspended from Parliament.
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi face 21-day suspensions, and MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke faces seven days. Collins went on to say, “It’s really important for every MP to think about this. It is an absolute privilege to do that job. That is why to try and stop and interrupt a vote of Parliament while members of Parliament are trying to cast their votes in a debate is an extremely serious matter. We have not done this lightly.”
Meanwhile Te Pāti Māori responded on social media: “When tangata whenua resist, colonial powers reach for maximum penalty.” And, “this is a warning shot to all of us to fall in line. E kore rawa mātau e tuohu!”
The recommendation of suspensions now heads back to Parliament.
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