DoomsdaysCW<p>Tens of thousands rally at <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NewZealand" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>NewZealand</span></a> Parliament against bill to alter <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndigenousRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>IndigenousRights</span></a> </p><p>An estimated 42,000 people gathered to oppose legislation that would reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty signed between the British and Indigenous <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maori" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Maori</span></a>.</p><p>Nov. 19, 2024</p><p>WELLINGTON, New Zealand — &quot;Tens of thousands of New Zealanders rallied in front of Parliament on Tuesday in one of the country’s largest ever <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/protests" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>protests</span></a> to oppose a bill, which opponents say seeks to dilute the rights of Maori and threatens to set race relations back decades.</p><p>&quot;Massive crowds estimated by the police at 42,000 gathered at Parliament, where the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TreatyPrinciplesBill" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>TreatyPrinciplesBill</span></a> was introduced earlier this month by legislators who want to reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty signed between the British and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndigenousMaori" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>IndigenousMaori</span></a>.</p><p>&quot;While the bill lacks enough support to pass, critics see in it a desire to reverse decades of policies that aimed to empower Maori, who make up around 20% of the 5.3 million population but have higher levels of deprivation and incarceration and worse health outcomes than the broader population.</p><p>“&#39;I’m here for my grandchildren, my children and for their children,&#39; said <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HoanaHadfield" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>HoanaHadfield</span></a> from Wellington, who was marching in a protest for the first time.</p><p>&quot;&#39;I think it’s important that we keep our <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/kaupapa" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>kaupapa</span></a>, which is our values as Maori and our culture, and it’s a real big thing for us to have <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CulturalIdentity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CulturalIdentity</span></a>.&#39;</p><p>&quot;Some people in the crowd were dressed in traditional attire with feathered headgear and cloaks and carried traditional Maori weapons, while others wore T-shirts emblazoned with <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ToituTeTiriti" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ToituTeTiriti</span></a> (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HonorTheTreaty" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>HonorTheTreaty</span></a>). Hundreds carried the Maori national flag.</p><p>&quot;The protest was preceded by a nine-day march, or <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/hikoi" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>hikoi</span></a>, that began in the country’s far north, with thousands joining rallies in towns and cities as marchers traveled south on foot and in cars to Wellington.</p><p>&quot;Unity and solidarity was spoken about a lot in the rally. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HelmutModlik" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>HelmutModlik</span></a>, a leader in the Ngati Toa tribe, told the crowd that it was too late to divide the country.</p><p>“&#39;To those who will divide us, whanau, it is too late. We are already one people,&#39; Modlik said to cheers from those gathered on the lawns of Parliament.<br />Booming Indigenous Maori &#39;<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/haka" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>haka</span></a>&#39; chants rang out across New Zealand&#39;s capital on November 19, as thousands rallied against a conservative proposal accused of stoking racial divisions.&quot;</p><p>Read more:<br /><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/tens-thousands-rally-new-zealand-parliament-bill-maori-rights-rcna180737?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">nbcnews.com/news/world/tens-th</span><span class="invisible">ousands-rally-new-zealand-parliament-bill-maori-rights-rcna180737?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Aotearoa" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Aotearoa</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NewZealand" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>NewZealand</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/M%C4%81ori" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Māori</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Respect" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Respect</span></a></p>