‘Colonial noose’

New Zealand's parliament backed down yesterday after ejecting a Maori lawmaker because he refused to wear a tie, allowing him to speak without an accessory he labelled a "colonial noose". 

The issue flared on Tuesday when Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi was ejected from the parliamentary debating chamber for not wearing the required attire during question time.

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Waititi, who has a full-face "te moko" tattoo and dons a black cowboy hat, argued that he was wearing legitimate Maori business attire -- a traditional pendant.

"This is not about ties, it's about cultural identity," he said as he left.

Indigenous Maori make up about 15 percent of New Zealand's five million population.

Waititi said the tie row showed race relations still needed to improve in the South Pacific nation.

After strictly enforcing the dress code on Tuesday, parliamentary speaker Trevor Mallard took a more relaxed approach when a tie-less Waititi spoke yesterday. Rather than have the Maori leader ejected, Mallard simply let him ask a question unhindered, later saying a permanent rule change was being considered.

Waititi was elected to parliament for the first time last year and in his maiden speech recounted the tale of an ancestor who was wrongly hanged by the British for murder.