Labour, the Greens, Te Pāti Māori and the pseudo-left ISO have sought to keep the anti-government protests within the framework of capitalist politics by glorifying the Treaty of Waitangi, falsely promoting this colonial document as the means to end racism and inequality.

Tens of thousands of people have marched on the New Zealand parliament in Wellington to protest against a bill that critics say strikes at the core of the country’s founding principles and dilutes the rights of Māori people.

By Lucy Craymer and Lewis Jackson WELLINGTON (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of New Zealanders rallied before parliament on Tuesday in one of the country's largest ever protests to oppose a bill that opponents say seeks to dilute the rights of Maori and threatens to set race relations back decades.

Members of New Zealand's parliament have rallied the international community in support of the island country's indigenous groups, as contentious legislation moves forward that could threaten Maori support systems.

New Zealand’s parliament was briefly suspended on Thursday after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill that would reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori.

A nine-day march by Maori and their supporters across New Zealand has culminated in Wellington on Tuesday at a rally with thousands readying to protest against a bill that opponents say seek to dilute the rights of the Maori.

A proposed law that would redefine New Zealand’s founding treaty between the British Crown and Māori chiefs has triggered political turmoil and prompted tens of thousands of people to show up in protest at the country's Parliament on Tuesday.

The streets of Wellington, New Zealand's capital, roared with the booming chants of the haka as an estimated 42,000 people demonstrated against a potential new law.