terms of the Principal Act, traditional councils have a limited term of office. For most, this expired in August last year. That would mean that any actions taken or contracts entered into by those councils once their term had expired would be illegal. All of which begs a question: What has this department been doing for the past five years? Could they not see the problem that the term of the traditional councils was about to run out? Were they unaware of the noncompliance with the existing Act?