Tens of thousands march on NZ parliament in protest against Māori treaty bill

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/19/tens-of-thousands-to-converge-on-nz-parliament-as-march-to-protest-controversial-maori-rights-bill-reaches-capital

Tens of thousands march on NZ parliament in protest against Māori treaty bill

Police say about 42,000 people gathered at parliament in the last stage of the nine-day protest in opposition to the Treaty of Waitangi bill

New Zealand’s Treaty of Waitangi explained in 30 seconds
What is the treaty principles bill?

Eva Corlett in Wellington
Tue 19 Nov 2024 00.24 EST

A protest march estimated to be one of the largest in New Zealand history arrived at parliament on Tuesday, flooding the grounds with song in a display of unity against a controversial bill seeking to reinterpret the country’s founding treaty between Māori and the crown.

Police said around 42,000 people took part in the march, in what was likely New Zealand’s largest-ever protest in support of Māori rights.

If passed into law, the treaty principles bill would radically alter the way the Treaty of Waitangi is interpreted. The treaty is an agreement signed in 1840 between more than 500 Māori chiefs and the crown and is instrumental in upholding Māori rights.

The bill is a flagship policy of the minor libertarian Act party – which forms part of the coalition government – and seeks to get rid of the well-established principles in favour of its own, redefined principles.

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(Paraphrase Green Party mp as heard on cbc: it’s imported far right libertarianism that’s spreading worldwide. And we’re not having it here.)