April 10 (UPI) — New Zealand’s Parliament Thursday rejected a bill targeting Maori rights that sparked protests.

The Treaty Principles Bill was voted down 112-11 after a government committee recommendation against it. The right-wing Act Party was the only one to vote for the bill in its second reading.

The bill was opposed by the National, Labor, NZ First, Greens and Te Pati Maori parties.

Labor Party leader Chris Hipkins said the bill would “be a stain on our country” forever.

He said it is “based on a mythology” that Maori have special privileges while data shows Maori in New Zealand are doing worse than the rest of the population in income, life expectancy, home ownership, health and education outcomes.

According to Act, the bill sought to establish equal rights for all in the country, Maori and non-Maori alike.

“The truth is we are all equal, deep down, but too many of our policies aim to treat people differently based on ancestry. That is why we should remove the idea that New Zealanders have different rights, ranked by the arrival of their ancestors,” Act leader David Seymour said in a parliament speech Thursday.

But if passed the bill would have reinterpreted The Treaty of Waitangi that established indigenous Maori rights under British Crown governance.

The Treaty of Waitangi has been used for legislation over the decades to uphold Maori rights and address the wrongs done to them during colonial times.

That treaty and decades of court rulings and actions by parliament established Maori rights.

Seymour vowed to continue campaigning on the issue despite the overwhelming vote against the Treaty Principles Bill.

The Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said, “The Treaty Principles Bill is dead. Our movement for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice lives on.”

According to a select parliament committee that recommended against approving the bill, more than 300,000 submissions were made by people commenting on the bill with the vast majority against it.