WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's parliament on Thursday comprehensively rejected a bill aimed at reinterpreting the principles of the country’s founding agreement following months of protest and debate over the place of indigenous Maori in the Pacific nation.
The Treaty of Waitangi, first signed in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Maori chiefs, lays down how the two parties agreed to govern. The interpretation of clauses in the document guide legislation and policy today.
