Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono walked out of the House today in support of Te Pāti Māori, who call for debate in the House about kaupapa Māori to include Māori voices.

“We continuously see and hear the National Party deliberately inciting racist debates in the House.

“This House absolutely deserves better than a narrative that harms tangata whenua and stops true te Tiriti justice”, says Green Party MP and Te Mātāwaka member Teanau Tuiono.

“It is frustrating as a Māori to see there is no appetite from certain members of parliament to right wrongs made against tangata whenua.

“They continue to belittle with harmful and paternalistic measures and rhetoric.

“Judith Collins and the National Party refuse to see the racism inside laws and policies they support that hold us back as an indigenous people. And continue to use Māori as a political football

“It was good to see the Prime Minister push back on Judith Collins’ rhetoric, but how the House operates is up to the Speaker.

“Aotearoa is founded on Te Tiriti o Waitangi which acts as a peaceful partnership between tau iwi and tangata Māori, tangata whenua. We must honour it.”

© Scoop Media