One Year Ago Today: Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke’s Protest Echoes as Controversial Bill Passes
One year ago today, on 14 November 2024, Aotearoa witnessed one of the most striking moments of political protest inside Parliament. Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke — then just 22 and the youngest MP from Te Pāti Māori — stood in the debating chamber during the first reading of a Treaty-related bill, tore the document in half, and launched into a haka.
The chamber erupted. Members of the public gallery joined in the chanting, opposition MPs rose to their feet, and the Speaker was forced to suspend proceedings.
What could have been a routine legislative vote instantly became a defining image of Māori resistance in the heart of the nation’s democracy.
The Road to the Protest
The bill Maipi-Clarke protested was part of a wider push to redefine how the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi apply to lawmaking. Many Māori advocates, legal experts and community leaders warned that such changes undermined existing Treaty protections.
In the days leading up to the vote, thousands of people took part in the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti, travelling from across the motu to Wellington in what became one of the largest protest movements in recent years.
Inside the Chamber
As the vote was called:
Maipi-Clarke rose, gripped the bill, and tore it apart.
She began a haka expressing defiance and grief.
Supporters in the public gallery joined in.
The moment became a symbol of frustration with what many saw as a pattern of legislative attacks on Māori rights and constitutional recognition.
It was raw, emotional and unforgettable — and it reverberated far beyond Parliament’s walls.
One Year Later: The Bill Passes
Today, 13 November 2025, the story came full circle. The Regulatory Standards Bill, a key part of the coalition agreement between ACT, National and New Zealand First, passed its third and final reading in Parliament.
Despite more than 98 percent of public submissions opposing it, the bill passed with government support.
The legislation sets out a set of lawmaking “principles” that are not enforceable in court but require politicians to explain themselves if new legislation appears to breach them. It also creates a Regulatory Standards Board to review existing laws against the same principles.
Critics argue the bill:
Reflects a libertarian ideological framework
Risks favouring large corporate interests
Adds extra cost and delay to lawmaking
Duplicates processes that already exist
Was pushed through with flawed consultation, including poor engagement with Māori
Opposition parties — Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori — have all pledged to repeal it if they regain power.
In the House today, Te Pāti Māori leaders referenced last year’s protest, calling the bill “cold, calculated arson” on constitutional protections and warning that while the government may have won the vote, the public will not accept the change quietly.
What This Means Now
One year after Maipi-Clarke’s powerful protest, the issues at the heart of it have only intensified. With the bill now becoming law, debate will shift to how the new framework is applied, how the Board operates, and whether the fears raised by Māori communities and legal experts are borne out in practice.
But today also underscores something else:
The symbolism of that torn document and that haka — a moment of cultural and political resistance — now stands in direct contrast to the bill's passage.
One year on, the fight Maipi-Clarke highlighted is far from over.