Kaipara’s “disrespect”, some claimed, was an affront to parliamentary decorum. Speaker Gerry Brownlee was quick to reprimand. Herald readers took to letters, comment threads and talkback, echoing the outrage.
Moments after Kaipara’s speech, a haka erupted. Brownlee bristled again, suspending Parliament for 10 minutes and promising a “crackdown on standards”.
The haka was condemned because it occurred outside the expected script. What Te Pāti Māori viewed as a heartfelt climax to a maiden speech, Brownlee and others saw as a rude, unscheduled outburst.
His concern was slipping formality – shoes off, rules ignored, order fraying.
But the reaction may betray a more profound misunderstanding.
Viewed through a Pākehā procedural lens, Kaipara’s gesture seemed casual. In te ao Māori, it was anything but – an act of humility and reverence for the House she was entering.
Parliament is still reconciling colonial etiquette with cultural reality. Its rules on attire and behaviour grew from Westminster’s sense of propriety – suits, ties, shoes, silence, order – a visual code of authority shaped by 19th-century Britain. The country they once governed has long since changed.
Today, New Zealand’s Parliament speaks in multiple languages and carries symbols once exiled from its floor.
Brownlee’s wish to lift standards may come from genuine concern for Parliament’s dignity. But dignity won’t return through blazers, ties and brogues alone. What evidence shows that a jacket and tie will instil better manners, especially in the debating chamber?
Cartoon / Daron Parton
If Parliament wants higher standards, perhaps it should embrace cultural literacy rather than wardrobe policing. A House that looks and sounds like its people isn’t necessarily lowering its tone. It’s living up to its name.
This embrace of cultural literacy extends to the sartorial choices of Te Pāti Māori members, who use dress as a deliberate and powerful expression of identity.
Growing diversity can strengthen Parliament. When members wear hei tiki, ‘ie faitaga or puletasi (formal Samoan dress) or place their bare feet on a sacred floor, they are not eroding standards. They are expanding them – making the House reflect those it represents.
That expansion could go further: Pasifika MPs in full traditional dress, others bringing visible markers of their own culture into the chamber.
NZ First’s Winston Peters epitomises parliamentary style with his signature pinstripe suits, crisply tailored shirts and trademark pocket squares.
His style conveys one kind of pride: a moko kauae (cultural markings on the chin) or hei tiki another. Both speak of respect – just in different tongues.
