Te Pāti Māori has received a stay of execution from the Privileges Committee after failing to come to a decision on whether to ban the party from Parliament grounds late on Tuesday afternoon.
It could also have an impact on the members of Parliament’s pay packets.
Te Pāti Māori was referred to the Privileges Committee following a haka performed during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill in November of last year.
At the time, Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee labeled the haka “disorderly and disruptive.”
It’s believed that the decision not to censure the party is based on the fact that Te Pāti Māori will hold an alternative hearing on Wednesday.
Following Tuesday afternoon’s Privileges Committee meeting, Winston Peters was asked whether he would be attending the alternative meeting, to which he replied, “Of course I’m not, I don’t believe in farces.”
The Privileges Committee Chairman, Judith Collins, was asked whether a final decision would be made tomorrow, to which she replied rather vaguely, “We shall wait and see.”
In a post to Facebook, Te Pāti Māori showed a list of recommendations that were to be considered by the Privileges Committee.
The Committee recommends that Te Pāti Māori MP, Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke be ‘severely censured by the House OR suspended for 7 days, for acting in a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the House in the discharge of their duty.’
For Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rāwiri Waititi, the length of suspension varied between 7, 14, and 21 days.
While co-leaders Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi were not present at the hearing, Te Tai Tokerau MP, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was in attendance.
Kapa-Kingi said that while no decision has been made, Te Pāti Māori is eager for a resolution.
“Once the decision has been made, I think we’ve got an opportunity to register, reset and rethink, and decide where to next?”
