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

As tens of thousands of marchers thronged the streets in New Zealand’s capital Wellington, the column of people, flags aloft, had the air of a festival or a parade rather than a protest.

Booming Indigenous Maori "haka" chants rang out across New Zealand's capital on Tuesday, as tens of thousands rallied against a conservative push to redefine the nation's founding treaty.

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.

Thousands gather at New Zealand's parliament to protest a bill they say undermines Maori rights::9, 2024:: Wellington, New Zealand"Well I know that this Bill is going to ruin everything and probably separate us into two instead of into one and I believe that we are fighting for the right reasons.

Tens of thousands of marchers crowded the streets in New Zealand’s capital Wellington on Tuesday to oppose a law that would reshape the county’s

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.

Booming Indigenous Maori "haka" chants rang out across New Zealand's capital on Tuesday, as thousands rallied against a conservative proposal accused of stoking racial divisions. Former conservative prime minister Jenny Shipley said the proposal threatened to "divide New Zealand in a way that I haven't lived through in my adult life".