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Meet New Zealand's youngest MP whose parliamentary war cry went viral (www.sbs.com.au)

submitted 10 months ago by tardigrada@beehaw.org to c/news@beehaw.org

6 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The 21-year-old New Zealand MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, her country's youngest MP since 1853, honoured the Indigenous people of New Zealand by performing a traditional haka, or war cry, as part of her maiden speech in December. In the resurfaced video, the chant reverberates around the parliamentary chamber as other Māori MPs join in with the haka.

Maipi-Clarke's inaugural address comes amid fears for Māori rights after a new government, led by the conservative National Party, was elected in October and announced plans which critics describe as the most significant step backwards for Māori rights in decades. Thousands have taken to New Zealand's streets to protest the proposed plans.

In an interview with Time magazine, the young MP slammed the new government's "racist rhetoric" and vowed to stay "strong" in her fight against it.

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[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Parliament is war? Is this why we can't get consensus?

[–] ailiphilia@feddit.it 19 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

@corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca

I don't speak this language and have no idea of this culture, but as always we must be careful as any literal translation from one language into another often conveys a different meaning, even when the words are the same.

Among others, the Tourism New Zealand website says about the haka and its origin:

Today, haka is used as a sign of respect and is performed on important occasions, such as sporting events, weddings, funerals, and powhiri (a traditional welcome).