Worth Richard: Coroners Bill — In Committee 
Worth Richard: Coroners Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:632;Page:4395] 
Dr RICHARD WORTH (National) 
: 
 Dr Coleman has led off in the debate on this part in magnificent style and has properly focused on the issues that are appropriately discussed in this Chamber at the Committee stage of the Coroners Bill which National supports. I would like to put some of the issues of the working-day coroner in a degree of perspective against the background of clause 4 which deals with the coroner’s role in relation to a death. I relate my comments particularly to what goes on at the moment in the office of the Auckland coroners. 
Of course Auckland has a very substantial history of coronial activity. It really goes back to the office of coroner first established in the Auckland City district in the 1840s. As the Minister reminded me in a discussion I had with him earlier tonight the first recorded inquest was held on 27 July 1841 by John Johnson then a doctor of medicine at the police office in Auckland. In those early years between 1841 and 1864 384 inquests were recorded all of which were conducted by a medical practitioner. The very first inquest at which some form of autopsy or medical examination was performed was held in 1841. The body in that case was examined by the assistant surgeon Patrick Gammie at the request of the coroner. 
Let us take a cross-section in community terms of what went on in Auckland last year—although we could go back further—to see the causes of death in the Auckland district. In 2005 we had 534 deaths from natural causes 151 from suicide—a very troubling issue and one that I know other members will speak about—87 from motor vehicle crashes 22 from homicide and 16 from drowning. We had 39 deaths of young children babies under a year old—a very timely topic at the moment to the sadness of this Chamber. That number of 39 deaths of infants up to a year of age breaks down in two ways. Firstly we have early neonatal deaths—11 from birth defects and nine from sepsis to produce a total of 20 deaths out of 39. When looking at the remainder those 19 other young children who died I think it is sobering and interesting to reflect that in gender terms there were eight male babies and 11 female babies. In terms of diagnosis 13 of those children died from what is called SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome and we had six overlaying deaths 12 deaths from co-sleeping and seven cot deaths. 
In Auckland we have something that I think is a bit unusual certainly compared to other districts: two very highly qualified full-time professional coroners. Those two people are Sarn Herdson and Murray Jamieson. I say that in the context of the comments Dr Coleman has made because one of the significant shifts in this legislation is a move to full-time and professional coroners. That is not without controversy as he said because the Government has decided simply to junk without compensation—in my view completely against all constitutional principle—a number of coroners who have given valiant and competent service. Significant constitutional issues arise there because as National members will later recount we are talking about people with tenure akin to judicial tenure and that is to be stripped from them.