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Maori Party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer left Parliament in the middle of a space to speak in the debate responding to the Speech to the Throne.
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The party could not respond because it has less than six deputies. Source: 1 NEWS
Waititi stood up to make a point of order in prison to ask for a space to speak for 15 minutes, however this was denied.
Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer left on the second day of Parliament’s new term, ahead of the speech by national leader Judith Collins and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
“It is the tyranny of our democracy for minority parties,” Waititi said.
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Covid-19 and climate change led the debate today. Source: 1 NEWS
“We are determined to fight and we are determined to ensure that the Maori have a voice in this place.”
According to the standing rules of Parliament, response debate speeches for leaders are for those with parties of six or more deputies.
“We asked for 15 minutes to make sure the Maori voice could participate in the Leadership debate in response,” Waititi said on Facebook live afterward.
“You have four other parties that are predominantly Pākehā and dominated Pākehā-led parties, speaking in the House as we speak and the Maori voice was silenced.
“There is no way we allow our people to sit in a room and be silenced. We go out for you.”
At the end of Parliament, President Trevor Mallard said that “when there is a motion on the floor you cannot get up and start moving another.”
“There are processes to go through.”
He said there had been a discussion this week “whether the co-leader of the Maori Party could have two speeches in the address and response debate.”
“It has been made clear that the current rules do not allow that.”
“An offer was made for each of the co-leaders to have 15-minute speeches from now on, recognizing both their single status and the fact that they are leaders of unspecified parties.
“That was not acceptable and therefore I guess it was one of the reasons the members dropped out.”
