Writing in the New Zealand Herald on Wednesday, Waititi said his action was not about ties, but about the right of Māori to be Māori, whether in Parliament or in the pub.
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“I took off the colonial tie as a sign that it continued to colonise, to choke and to suppress out Māori rights that Mallard suggests gives us all equality,” Waititi said.
“This is about more than just the tie or the taonga, this has everything to do with equality.”
Waititi, who has called ties “a colonial noose”, was told last year that he would be ejected from the House if he did not wear one. He wore a taonga, a Maori greenstone pendant instead.
The Speaker said that while ties were outdated in his view, an overwhelming majority of members asked the rule be retained in consultations on the issue in the last few months.
Asked to comment, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was not something she had a strong opinion on, and that she had no objection to someone wearing a tie in Parliament or not.
“There are much more important issues for all of us,” Ardern said.
Reuters
