The 21-day suspension of Māori Party MPs has divided opinion in Parliament, with Labour MP Tracey McLellan calling it “outrageously large” and warning of the consequences, while Minister Matt Doocey insisted it was a proportionate response to serious rule-breaking.

McLellan said the Privileges Committee’s decision to suspend the MPs for disrupting a vote was far beyond what was reasonable.

“I think the suspension in this case of 21 days was so out of line with what should have been expected that it made the concept of a punishment a bit of a farce,” she said.

“That’s a really dangerous precedent. As the Right Honourable Adrian Rurawhe said yesterday, ‘Be careful what you wish for.’”

She stressed that the Privileges Committee was meant to be an independent body representing Parliament, not the Government, and warned against it being used as a political weapon.

“It shouldn’t be weaponised to make punishments that are not fair and reasonable. And I think that’s what’s happened here.”

Doocey disagreed. He said the punishment was not about targeting individuals or culture but about behaviour that undermined democratic process.

“This wasn’t about haka or waiata or individuals specifically — it was about their behaviour,” he said.

“They tried to obstruct a vote. They failed to appear before the Privileges Committee. Most New Zealanders would say the punishment was fair and reasonable.”

Doocey also dismissed the Māori Party’s framing of the suspension as racially motivated.

“This is about following rules. People expect their elected representatives to uphold democratic standards.”

He said the focus on political drama rather than policy was becoming more common from the party’s MPs.

“Everything they seem to be doing is very strategic,” he said. “I don’t hear much about policy, but I certainly hear a lot about Māori Party members carrying nooses. It’s becoming a sideshow — and I don’t think that’s good for democracy.”

McLellan said, “The public don’t want to hear us talking about ourselves at all. We do need to move on.”

She said the matter could have been dealt with swiftly if the punishment had been in line with similar breaches in the past.

“We wouldn’t still be sitting here talking about it if the punishment hadn’t been so outrageously large.”

Doocey said that while some parties were focused on creating viral moments, others were simply doing their job.

“You can see one group of MPs who are diligently trying to uphold the rules, and another group who are here more on an activism basis.”