The key changes in the legislation are: local authority chief executives will have the power to write off unrecovered rates arrears of any land, including rate debts inherited by deceased owners of Māori land; most unused Māori land will be non-rateable—this will remove rates arrears debt on unused Māori land—Ngā Whenua Rāhui kawenata, Māori land that has been set aside for conservation purposes, will be non-rateable; a statutory rates remission process will be available for Māori land under development, offering rates relief and encouraging development. These measures are long overdue and have had Te Paati Māori's wholehearted support for many years.