Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Local Government): Right from the beginning, I've worked closely with local government. We've established a steering group with Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) and Taituarā , and the subsequent technical working group to address specific areas of the work programme. Prior to the local government conference, the Government released detailed information on the case for change, the reform objectives, and proposed design features. The Government and LGNZ technical advisers have provided councils with a variety of tools to help them understand their individual positions with and without reform. Officials from the Department of Internal Affairs and members from LGNZ and Taituarā have undertaken an extensive period of engagement with local government during August and September to ensure the reform proposals and the impact on councils and ratepayers are well understood. LGNZ and officials are continuing to hold one-on-one discussions with councils at their request, as we would expect.