New Zealand's parliament on Thursday began a heated debate on a contentious bill aimed at reinterpreting the country's founding agreement as hundreds of protesters continued their march toward the country's capital.

New Zealand's parliament was brought to a temporary halt by MPs performing a haka, amid anger over a controversial bill seeking to reinterpret the country's founding treaty with Māori people.

Maori lawmakers stage a haka to protest a contentious New Zealand indigenous rights bill :::: Wellington, New ZealandThe ACT New Zealand party, a junior partner in the country's centre-right coalition government,