Green MP Tamatha Paul stood in front of a crowd of 35,000 people united in trying to stop the controversial Treaty Principles Bill in her electorate.

She started her speech by talking about the haka that was seen across the world.

“On Thursday, when these b*****rs [Act Party] tried to make it about their stupid little bill, we reclaimed that mana because on that day our people were crossing the Auckland Habour Bridge, shaking the Auckland Habour Bridge as our ancestors did [and] we had the haka in the house led by my ‘sis’ Hana.”

Paul alongside other MPs was in the room where it happened and witnessed the international viral moment live.

“In that moment, it said, without needing any words, the new generation is here and we will not be quiet!

“We told them do not tōto with our treaty, we warned them that there would be mass resistance but what we are seeing in front of us today is a unity, a kotahitanga.

“Māori, Pākehā, tauiwi, people born here, people born afar, all united to say ‘we deserve better and we will not let this place [Parliament] trample on the mana of our treaty,” she said.

‘We are not victims’

The Wellington Central MP told the crowd gathered on Parliament grounds, “We are not victims”.

“We are strong, we are resilient, we have withstood worse than this in our history, and we will continue to rise because we are still here.”

She made a call to the “haters that want to say this is about all New Zealanders”.

“Our rights, all of us as New Zealanders are already protected under the Bill of Rights Act and under the Human Rights Act but we can’t have those things without te Tiriti.

“[The treaty] is what gives us our collective rights to stand on this whenua, to stand on this land, to be proud of our perfectly imperfect nation we stand on,” Paul said.