Hon EUGENIE SAGE (Green): Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare; thank you. The Green Party is very pleased to be supporting the Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill. When the Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill was passed last year, that was a major step forward for Māori representation in local government and in recognising the Crown-Māori relationship at a local level. It was that law change that the Green Party had sought to do through a member's bill in the name of Marama Davidson, and we were delighted when the Hon Nanaia Mahuta and the Labour Government picked it up. Previously, that requirement that councils had to run a community poll if they wanted to establish a Māori ward, but they didn't have to run such a poll if they were establishing a general ward, was hugely discriminatory, and there was a lot of public support for removal of this double standard.