Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Will we ever get order back into Parliament?

It sounds like Gerry Brownlee thinks that the Māori Party punishment is too harsh.

He started Parliament today with the Speaker's ruling and he dropped some pretty strong hints that he thinks that 21 days without pay for Debbie and Rawiri over that haka is too much.

He called the punishment very 'severe' and unprecedented because up til now, the harshest punishment has been 3 days, not 21 days.

Roger Childs: Te Pati Māori fears the Treaty Principles Bill

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. –Article 1, United Nations Declaration of Human Rights

Small but noisy

As the Hikoi grinds its way on to Parliament, the Maori Party claims that it has a key leadership role. But this is a group with a single focus: to speak with a strong, independent and united voice for Maori. They are just a small party with a loud voice having garnered only 3.08% of the popular vote in last year’s election. However, they have six seats in the House of Representatives courtesy of the undemocratic special Maori seats.