Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Minister of Local Government: I stand by the full statement I made. There were a wide range of models tested during the policy development process, including modelling of 30 aggregation scenarios. These ranged from a one entity scenario covering the whole of New Zealand to a 13 entity scenario. These are summarised in the final report by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, which was published by the Department of Internal Affairs as part of the national evidence base supporting the reform proposals. In addition, a wide range of alternative policy options were considered, including not pursuing aggregation. These include, for example, support for voluntary reform proposals by local government and Waka Kotahi - style funding models. The range of options considered are also outlined in the department's regulatory impact statement. In answer to the second part of the question, the options were assessed against the criteria of whether the reform proposals improve economic efficiency and support a financially sustainable system—including achieving balance sheet separation, improving infrastructure delivery, improving decision making and performance—and can be easily implemented. The current system of 67 different council water providers is clearly not meeting delivery of safe, affordable, and sustainable three water services, and this is something that most people agree on. Aggregation is required to achieve the outcomes we want, and we are confident that the model we have chosen is the right way forward.