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.

In protest, hundreds of demonstrators have set out on a nine-day hikoi (march) from New Zealands north to the capital, Wellington. The marchers have staged rallies in towns and cities along the way and are expected to arrive in Wellington on Tuesday,

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.