Treaty Principles Bill passes first reading | 1News on TVNZ+

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The Treaty Principles Bill has passed its first reading, with proponent ACT leader David Seymour facing fierce opposition as he argued that 'all New Zealanders deserve tino rangatiratanga' (self-determination).

MPs who opposed the Bill criticized it as 'divisive', a threat to Crown-Māori relations, and likened it to a 'dictatorship of the majority'.

Labour MP Willie Jackson was ejected from the debating chamber after referring to Seymour as a 'liar', and a haka performed by Te Pāti Māori resulted in the suspension of proceedings before the vote could be completed.

Seymour, in presenting his bill, expressed the need to 'break this Parliament's 49 years of silence' on Treaty principles