New Zealand's biggest-ever march: How 42,000 people changed Wellington's streets
A huge crowd marched through Wellington to defend an almost 200-year-old treaty. The protest which started as small walk from north region turned into one of New Zealandʼs largest-ever public gatherings
In a ground-breaking display about 42‚000 people walked through Wellington today showing their dis-satisfaction with a new bill that aims to change Maori peoples rights
The crowd (which finished their nine-day walk from up north) filled the streets with haka chants while men in feather cloaks and horse-riders with red-white-black flags moved forward; kids joined grown-ups who had traditional moko tattoos
I may have been suspended but the next day I showed up outside with a hundred thousand of my people marching with our heads held high
The bill wants to re-write how the Treaty of Waitangi works - a deal made way back in 1840 between British Crown and Maori chiefs. Last week Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke tore the bill apart right in parliament which led to a short break in work and her getting kicked-out
The proposed changes dont sit well with many people because:
* They might hurt indigenous peoples rights
* Could create more problems between different groups
* Might change important rules that keep the country together
David Seymour from ACT Party wrote this bill to remove what he calls special-rights but Christopher Luxon (the prime-minister) doesnt support these ideas. Even though the bill passed its first check it probably wont become a real law
Eru Kapa-Kingi who leads many protesters said that todays event showed birth of new Maori nation - something that caught attention of people world-wide
