Sage EugenieHon EUGENIE SAGE (Green): Thank you very much Mr Chair. Really grateful for the sponsor Rino Tirikatene pointing out why the bill is needed.I suggest that Mr Court and some other members actually read some history because the fact that the ACT Party was putting Ngāi Tahu on the same basis as Federated Farmers as a stakeholder shows a fundamental lack of understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.It shows a fundamental failure to understand and read the Ngāi Tahu settlement and the recognition in that settlement which confirms the rangatiratanga and mana of Ngāi Tahu over their lands and affirmed the ability to have representatives of Ngāi Tahu—there's a special adviser on the conservation boards there are positions there for Ngāi Tahu; there was a relationship with Te Papa Atawhai over Te Waihora—Lake Ellesmere—and the statutory adviser position to the Department of Conservation.So this comes from the settlement; this comes from Te Tiriti. It is recognising that mana whenua relationship because it is implicit in the bill and what the National Party and ACT are totally confusing: equal representation with effective representation.Part 1 of the bill refers to the Local Electoral Act. There are numerous instances around Aotearoa where you do not have equal representation. I am in the Banks Peninsula constituency of the Christchurch City Council. That constituency breaches the 10 percent plus or minus rule for the number of electors whom each councillor represents—by more than 61 percent. That is to recognise that the large size of the Banks Peninsula electorate requires one councillor even if we don't have the same number of electors as in some of the other constituencies in Christchurch.Effective representation is about ensuring that there is a strong Ngāi Tahu voice as mana whenua around the council table. Mr Court referred to discharges. At Matariki both Rino Tirikatene myself and Carmel Sepuloni and Tracey McLellan were at Takapūneke. That is illustrative of what happens when you don't have mana whenua at the table.We had the former Banks Peninsula District Council discharging sewage into Akaroa Harbour establishing their wastewater plant adjacent to one of the most important sites in Aotearoa New Zealand history—at Takapūneke where 200 people died because of Te Rauparaha's use of the brig Elizabeth and the deceitful actions of Captain Thomas. That establishment of the waste-water plant—the establishment of the dump there—would not have happened if Ngāi Tahu had been at the table. Environment Canterbury has a critical role in resource management—the land the waters the air the coast. It is really important that they are represented in those decisions and the misinformation that the National Party has been spreading by claiming that Part 1 of the bill—or Part 2—provides veto rights is an utter nonsense. The bill explicitly says that the Ngāi Tahu representatives have exactly the same functions and responsibilities as councillors.This bill is about strengthening democracy. It's about effective representation. It's about recognising Te Tiriti o Waitangi and making it real at the regional council.The nonsense that National and ACT are talking shows that they don't appreciate history they don't appreciate the Treaty and they don't appreciate effective representation.