Sio Hon Aupito WilliamCORONERS (CORONIAL CAP) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO (Minister for Courts): I present a legislative statement on the Coroners (Coronial Cap) Amendment Bill.DEPUTY SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: I move That the Coroners (Coronial Cap) Amendment Bill be now read a first time.The bill will amend the Coroners Act 2006 to increase the maximum number of coroners that can be appointed at any time from 20 fulltime-equivalent (FTE) coroners to 22 fulltime-equivalent coroners. This bill is being considered under urgency because Budget decisions to appoint four additional coroners on top of the current 18 cannot be fully implemented until the statutory cap in the Coroners Act has been amended. Appointment processes will commence as soon as possible after enactment. The new coroners will be appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Attorney-General. I consider urgency to be appropriate to the technical nature of this bill because its purpose is to give effect to Budget decisions. The usual parliamentary process would delay these appointments for several months. This would mean more waiting before we can start to alleviate workload pressures on our existing coroners. It would mean an increase in the times for coroner's findings and the distress being experienced by grieving families and whānau.The coronial system exists to help prevent deaths and promote justice by investigating the causes of sudden and unexplained deaths and making findings that help reduce the chances of further deaths occurring in similar circumstances. The coronial system is currently under considerable pressure. Since 2014 coroners have struggled to keep pace with the number of cases being accepted into the coronial jurisdiction. This has resulted in an increasing active caseload and an increase in the average time taken to conclude coronial inquiries. Key drivers for these increases include more deaths entering the coronial jurisdiction that turn out to be from natural causes and several periods in recent years when the coronial bench has not been operating at full capacity due to vacancies.The current coronial system and its resourcing is not fully meeting the needs of bereaved families and the public. The increasing length of time they are waiting to receive a coroner's findings is severely impacting the wellbeing of many bereaved families and whānau. These families and whānau are victims because they have been harmed by the unexpected violent or suspicious death of a loved one and the coroner's findings can help provide answers about their loved one's death and bring closure during the grieving process.This year's Budget finding for coronial services coupled with the increase to this coronial cap will enable the appointment of four additional permanent coroners. These positions will be on top of the current 18 full-time permanent coroners taking the total to 22 fulltime-equivalents but there are also seven FTE relief coroners who are not counted with the cap. These additional coroners will enable faster resolution of coronial cases. Many more families and whānau will receive coroner's findings sooner than would otherwise be possible.The bill is needed to give effect to Budget decisions. It will contribute to reducing coronial wait times thereby relieving a little of the distress felt by families and whānau or ainga who have lost their loved ones and I commend this bill to the House.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to.