12. Question No. 12—CourtsVANUSHI WALTERS (Labour—Upper Harbour) to the Minister for CourtsQuestion No. 12—Courts12. VANUSHI WALTERS (Labour—Upper Harbour) to the Minister for Courts: What is the Government doing to ease the pressure on the coronial system?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO (Minister for Courts): On Wednesday night I presented the first reading of the Coroners Amendment Bill. This bill will address the coronial backlog in a number of ways. Significantly it will establish a new judicial position called associate coroner to reduce the coroners' workload by doing the more administrative straightforward functions of the coroner. The introduction of this bill with cross-party support amends the Coroners Act to give piece of mind to our grieving families who have had loved ones in the coronial system.Vanushi Walters: What else does the bill do to address the pressure on coroners?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: Additionally this bill will also allow the cause of death to be recorded as unascertained natural causes when the coroner has concluded that the death is from a natural cause and no further investigation is necessary. And it will provide coroners the sole discretion to decide whether a coronial inquiry should also include an inquest while maintaining the requirement to consult interested parties and consider their views. These amendments will all help to ease the pressure and reduce the backlog in our coronial system.Vanushi Walters: Has the Government made further investment to alleviate pressure on coroners?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: Yes. In addition Budget 2022 delivered operating funding of $28.5 million over four years and $1.6 million of capital funding to help reduce the coronial caseload. This will also allow the appointment of four new permanent coroners and support staff. We know more must be done to improve access to justice for families and whānau and it is why we as a Government have committed also to a wider longer-term review of the coronial system as announced earlier in the year.Chris Penk: Why has the Government taken nearly five years during which time the average number of active cases at the Coroners Court has exploded to over 6000 to introduce a bill that is described by the departmental disclosure statement as having no or only minor impacts such that the regulatory impact statement was not even worth producing?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: I disagree with the member. What I will say though is members have to be mindful the judiciary lead this. Coroners are members of the judiciary and we have to respect their independence in the way that they conduct the roles.Vanushi Walters: Who will be consulted in this longer-term review?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: I indicated at the courts Estimates hearing this year of the need to progress a wider long-term review of the coronial system. It's my expectation that the review will involve agencies such as the police judiciary pathologists and Ministry of Health though our focus will remain on keeping our whānau at the centre and those who have lost a loved one at the heart of our engagement in everything we do.Vanushi Walters: What role if any do cultural practices play in these amendments to the work of coroners?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: I acknowledge the critical importance of cultural practices relating to death particularly for those in our Pacific ethnic and faith communities. It's my expectation that any engagement will also seek to consider and uphold these cultural and faith views. For that reason this bill complements other work being led by the Ministry of Justice to improve the coronial system including a project to better integrate culture and tikanga Māori into coronial processes and by appointing clinical advisers to assist coroners with this cultural component. The combination of all of this will help reduce the wait time grieving families are experiencing in our coronial system and I do want to emphasise this is a significant part—the cultural intelligence in this work is part of something that that other side doesn't understand.