Indigenous New Zealand legislator wins battle against wearing tie in parliament

Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi outside New Zealand’s parliament in Wellington (Nick Perry/AP)

An indigenous legislator has won his battle against wearing a tie in the New Zealand parliament, ending a longstanding dress requirement that he describes as a “colonial noose”.

Rawiri Waititi, the co-leader of the Maori Party, this week sparred over the dress code with parliament speaker Trevor Mallard, who has the job of enforcing the rules – even though Mr Mallard said he did not personally agree with the tie rule.