Wellington - A New Zealand politician was ordered out of the national parliament on Tuesday over a protest in which she wore a Super Rugby jersey in the debating chamber.

VIDEO: Clare Curran ordered out of parliament

Labour lawmaker Clare Curran said she wore the Highlanders' traditional blue and yellow strip to show her opposition towards plans to change the team's colours to lime green.

Curran's action earned the ire of parliamentary speaker Lockwood Smith, who ruled that the top was inappropriate because it was not business attire and she could only return if she changed it.

"This house has certain dress standards," he told parliament.

Curran, who comes from the Highlanders' home town Dunedin, questioned the rules surrounding dress codes for female MPs before leaving, later describing her ejection as "an overreaction".

She said she wanted to highlight dissatisfaction in her electorate over the change to the Highlanders' colours.

"There's a lot of feeling in Dunedin about the changing of the brand," Curran told Fairfax Media.

Highlanders' officials last week said changing the blue and yellow colours employed since the team entered the southern hemisphere competition to green was to "represent the physical characteristics of the whole franchise region".

The new strip made an inauspicious debut last Friday, when the Highlanders lost 21-14 to the Western Force. That appearance was a one-off for this season but the Highlanders say it will it will be their permanent jersey next season.