Thousands protesting New Zealand's Indigenous bill set to march to parliament

19/11/2024 7:31

        A nine-day march by Maori and their supporters across New Zealand will culminate in Wellington on Tuesday at a rally where thousands are expected to protest a bill that opponents say seeks to dilute the rights of the Maori.
        
        The march, or hikoi, began last week in the country's far north. Thousands have attended rallies in towns and cities as marchers travelled south to Wellington for a planned rally against the Treaty Principles Bill that is currently before parliament.
        
        The bill reinterprets the clauses in the 184-year-old Treaty of Waitangi. First signed in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Indigenous Maori chiefs, it lays down how the two parties agreed to govern. The interpretation of clauses in the document still guides legislation and policy today.