So, look, why might they need representation—the regional council? The member Rino Tirikatene has stated there are great benefits to having people with a special relationship with the land making decisions about land and water use. He gives no examples about how Ngāi Tahu representatives have in fact contributed to better decision-making around land and water simply by virtue of their genealogy. That's frankly patronising and insulting to the tens of thousands of land and water and engineering and science professionals who make decisions for the benefit of our community about land and water every day. It's patronising and it's insulting to the farmers, to the foresters, to the engineers, the miners, and the scientists responsible for protecting and enhancing our environment. There is no one in my engineering class who could possibly have assumed that because of who their grandfather or their great-grandfather was, they would know more or less about the environment. None of us would have assumed that, because it's simply not true. Good environmental practitioners study science and engineering, and they hold themselves and each other to high standards. Race and ethnicity do not come into it. 