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.

Although the bill is unlikely to pass, opponents say bid to reverse progress for Maori threatens to divide society.

A proposed bill would revise the country's foundational treaty with Maori people and is hugely unpopular. Here's what to know.

Tens of thousands of New Zealanders gathered outside the parliament in one of the country’s largest demonstrations to oppose the Treaty Principles Bill, which critics say undermines Maori rights and threatens race relations.

Kingi, a key leader of the protests, spoke to the crowd, saying: "The Maori nation has been born today." He stressed a return to traditional Maori leadership values. Although the bill was introduced,

Thousands of people are gathering to take the final steps in a march on New Zealand’s parliament to demonstrate against a controversial bill seeking to overhaul the country's founding document between British colonisers and Māori people.

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".