Korako Nuk; Tolley AnneNUK KORAKO (National): Ko te hau mua. Ko te hau muri. Ko te hau tamawahine. Ko te hau tamatāne. E tū mai rā te tokotoko a Tāne-nui-ā-Rangi. E tuturu mau kia whakamau kia tina (tina) haumi e hui e taiki e![The wind in front of us. The wind behind us. The female wind. The male wind. Let the staff of Tāne-nui-ā-Rangi stand tall. Let this prayer be made firm be made fast make it fast all together it is done!]Ko tēnei pire ko te Coroners (Access to Body of Dead Person) Amendment Bill. Ka hoki ki te pūrongo a te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Māori; ko te uiui nā ki te āhei atu me te whakahaere a te whānau i te tūpāpaku.[This bill the Coroners (Access to Body of Dead Person) Amendment Bill takes us back to the report of the Māori Affairs Committee; that inquiry addresses the ability of the family to control what happens to a deceased person.]The genesis of this bill was by way of an inquiry that was undertaken by the Māori Affairs Committee in the 51st Parliament. Tonight I want to acknowledge first of all the honourable Metiria Turei who was responsible for instigating this particular inquiry and also another Pāti Kākāriki wahine now the co-leader of the Green Party who was also responsible for developing the terms of reference for the inquiry. Also it's important to acknowledge parliamentarians that are not here any more and particularly Marama Fox from the Pāti Māori and our own Chester Borrows and also Pita Paraone who gave us so much wise insight into Te Ao Māori. All of these former parliamentarians were instrumental in guiding this inquiry to its very successful we believe conclusion. Can I also acknowledge the Hon Andrew Little who has brought this bill to the House and our appreciation as to acknowledging one part of it particularly the dignity that we have for the tūpāpaku.In light of the Māori Affairs Committee inquiry we now have a bill before us tonight that amends section 26 of the Coroners Act 2006. What it does is it improves the cultural considerations of the coronial system. Currently the Act does not require coroners to take cultural considerations into account under section 26 but they also have a discretion to do so. Looking at it and listening to the submitters a lot of that discretion wasn't undertaken. A number of the submitters reported that the fact is that they felt there was a lot of cultural negativity during the management of a deceased person.Can I also say that the inquiry was initiated in response to many whānau regarding access to and management of the tūpāpaku as culturally insensitive. So this particular bill and part of it goes quite a way to addressing some of those concerns.I think it's also important to note that while the Māori Affairs Committee concentrated on Māori cultural aspects under the terms of reference the inquiry was not purely restricted just to Māori. We tried to cover all New Zealanders with an interest in these issues. So when the submitters did come there were a number of ethnic communities that came to submit and when we saw this—exactly what Māori were talking about was also what they were talking about and they were experiencing.In regard then to the bill I think this very much reflects the bill and hopefully the diversity particularly that is reflected in the over 200 ethnicities that are part of the New Zealand population. I think though more consideration will need to occur as we grapple with the component of the coroners' work.Can I finally just say that it was incredibly moving to hold this inquiry and actually listen not only to those that were whānau but also to the incredible work that is done by the coronial services; also the police as well; medical; health—you know all of that. They came with their stories and to me this is a reflection of the success of that inquiry. For that reason we support this bill to select committee and I commend this bill to the House.Āpiti hono tātai hono rātou ki te hunga mate ki te hunga mate ki a rātou āpiti hono tātai hono tātou ki te hunga ora ki te hunga ora ki a rātou.[The deceased should be left to rest in peace while the living resume their business in the world of the living.]Let the dead be the dead and the living be the living. Kia ora tātou katoa.DEPUTY SPEAKER: I call—[Interruption] Are you calling? I call Mark Patterson.