OPINION: One of the strongest arguments for Act’s Treaty Principles Bill is probably its opponents’ total inability to raise a calm, cogent retort to it, other than intimidation and shouting the other side into silence.
When the Bill had its first reading in the House, the level of debate the Maori Party members were capable of rising to was a loud, intimidating haka, designed to derail voting on the Bill and disrupt the legitimate parliamentary process.
Act’s David Seymour noted, “I heard name calling, I heard hysteria, I saw a haka. I didn’t hear any argument”.
Shane Jones added, if Maori Party MPs won’t respect the rules of the House, they shouldn’t come to Parliament.
Your old mate reckons the attendance roll suggests they usually don’t!