New Zealand’s Parliament on Thursday suspended three Māori lawmakers for staging a protest that included performing the haka, a traditional Māori dance, in opposition to a controversial bill.

Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, who are the co-leaders of the Te Pāti Māori party, were suspended without pay for 21 days following a vote by a parliamentary committee. Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke was also voted to be suspended for seven days. The disciplinary decision stemmed not from the haka itself, but from what the committee deemed inappropriate conduct during a reading of legislation, particularly a gesture by Ngarewa-Packer that was interpreted as simulating the firing of a gun at another lawmaker. Committee chair Judith Collins said : “This was a very serious incident, the likes o

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