The incident kicked off a debate about colonialism in New Zealand, and sparked outrage from around the world with #no2tie soon trending on Twitter. By Wednesday, Mallard had announced that the parliament was scrapping the tie requirement.

"As Speaker, I am guided by the committee's discussion and decision, and therefore ties will no longer be considered required as part of 'appropriate business attire'. I acknowledge those who felt this was an important issue worthy of further consideration."

Speaking to Reuters on Wednesday, Waititi said he was not surprised by the treatment of the speaker as Māori people had been facing this type of treatment for hundreds of years.

"Māori have not been treated equal in its own country and indigenous people all over the world have been subjected to discrimination due to racist systems that keep our peoples in second place," he said.

"For us to stand up against subjugation, to stand up again assimilation, to stand up against those who try and make us look, feel, make us think like they want us to think ... this was standing up against that."

Waititi wore the same attire to parliament on Wednesday and this time he was permitted to speak.

"The noose has been taken off our necks, and we are now able to sing our songs," Waititi said in the interview.

It has a 11% LGBTQI representation and 21% Māori representation. The parliament saw its first member of Parliament of African origin and of Sri Lankan origin after the election last October.

But Waititi, who has called ties "a colonial noose," said there is still systemic racism in New Zealand, and this was a product of colonization.

Māori are over-represented in prisons, the majority of children in state care are Māori, and poverty and unemployment are rife in the community.

Asked to comment, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that it was not something she had a strong opinion on, and that she had no objection to someone wearing a tie in parliament or not.

"There are much more important issues for all of us," Ardern said.