The reason why is because it works for Environment Canterbury. The quality of decision making, the knowledge and experience that the Ngāi Tahu representatives bring to the council table, actually led to better council decision-making and better outcomes in freshwater management and in other aspects of the environment. And why is that important? It is because Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu has a special connection to the environment, because Ngāi Tahu are the iwi, the mana whenua, the Treaty partner whose ancestral landscape is the Te Waipounamu; it is the whole region of Canterbury. 