The controversial Treaty Principles Bill would end the Māori right of self-determination outlined in a nearly 200-year-old treaty, opposition parties say. ACT leader and bill author David Seymour said he wants the bill to end the practice of granting Māori citizens "different rights from other New Zealanders.”

The Treaty of Waitangi, which is the focus of the proposed bill, dates back to 1840 and is considered New Zealand's founding document. The agreement was signed by Māori chiefs and the British monarchy and focused on rectifying wrongs done to the indigenous people when the country was colonized.

New Zealand’s parliament was briefly suspended on Thursday after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill that would reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori.