‘Colonial noose’: Māori MP ejected from New Zealand parliament in necktie row

Mr Waititi claimed his outfit was "Māori business atire"

Credit: Lynn Grieveson/Getty Images

The co-leader of New Zealand’s Māori Party was ejected from Parliament on Tuesday for refusing to wear a necktie.

Rawiri Waititi was told by the speaker, Trevor Mallard, that he would not be called on to speak while not wearing a tie, but attempted to make a point of order and was promptly expelled from the House of Representatives.

Mr Waititi and Mr Mallard had engaged in a heated exchange of words before the expulsion, with the Māori MP claiming that his outfit, which included a pounamu or greenstone necklace instead of a tie, was “Māori business attire”. The current dress code requires business attire.

Upon departing the chamber, Mr Waiti declared “It’s not about ties it’s about cultural identity mate,” reported local media.

This was not the first time Mr Waiti had challenged the New Zealand parliament’s dress code. In December, during his maiden speech, he removed his tie while branding it a “colonial noose” and was given a warning.

The latest clash came just a week after the Speaker ruled that ties and jackets would still be required in Parliament, following a review requested by the Green Party.

Mr Mallard, who had asked MPs to write to him on the issue, said: “A significant majority of members who responded opposed any change to dress standards for the Debating Chamber.”

Simon Bridges, the former leader of the country’s conservative National Party, tweeted at the time of the review “men who come to Parliament should wear ties. It’s not a bar, or a club, or a business, it’s a national Parliament.”

Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister, said she had no personal objection to ties not being worn, but said there were more important things for Parliament to concern itself with. “I don’t think New Zealanders care about ties,” she said

In Britain, the requirement for male MPs to wear ties was dropped in 2017. The then-Speaker John Bercow made the impromptu ruling in the middle of a debate when one MP objected to another asking a question while not wearing a tie.

The move upset traditionalists within Parliament and the then-Minister for Transport, John Hayes, declared that he wouldn’t accept interventions from "sartorially challenged" MPs who weren’t wearing ties.

Peter Bone, the MP who had made the original objection, later claimed that the ruling “reduces the esteem of Parliament" and made it look "like a county council”. 

Mr Bercow in 2009 also ditched the requirement for the Speaker to wear a wig and stockings.