Barker Rick: Coroners Bill — Third Reading 
Barker Rick: Coroners Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:633;Page:4865] 
Hon RICK BARKER (Minister for Courts) 
: 
 I move  
That the Coroners Bill be now read a third time 
. The Coroners Bill is a major reform to improve the quality consistency and timeliness of coroners’ investigations and decision making and to take better account of the diverse social cultural and spiritual needs of families. When the Law Commission reviewed the coronial system it received many submissions saying that despite the high ability and sensitivity of many involved in the coronial process the current coronial system was haphazard patchy unsystematic and inadequate. The Law Commission noted at the time that more than 70 coroners were spread throughout the country with differing levels of qualifications and experience. Coroners were mainly working part-time often in isolation and with limited formal administrative support. Appointment processes were considered inadequate and there were no training programmes for coroners. There was a perception that the coronial system did not take enough account of cultural beliefs and values especially those of Maori. There were also reports that some coronial practices had been insensitive to the needs of families in relation to the treatment of the deceased and the removal and retention of body parts. 
 The Coroners Bill goes a long way to address these concerns by firstly establishing the office of the chief coroner to provide leadership and coordination; secondly moving to a smaller number of mostly full-time legally qualified coroners; thirdly ensuring families are notified of significant steps in the coronial process; fourthly introducing a specific regime for attention and release of body parts and body samples; and fifthly enhancing inquiry and inquest processes. Families will particularly benefit from these reforms. Among other things the bill broadens the definition of family to take into account modern family arrangements and cultural relationships allows families to appoint a representative to liaise with a coroner requires the coroner to perform the duties without delay requires the coroner to notify families at significant stages of the coronial process allows families to review and touch the body of a deceased person with a coroner’s authorisation and gives families the right to object to a post-mortem examination if the death does not appear to be suspicious. It introduces a regime for the retention and return of body parts and body samples restricts how retained bodily samples can be used and sets up a process for dealing with complaints about a coroner’s conduct. 
The Coroners Bill has thrown up some challenging issues particularly around suicide and the making public of details of suicide deaths. This is a serious issue and it has been the subject of considerable discussion and debate. Suicide affects all our communities and our youth suicide in particular is a concern. I am pleased to see that we are making good progress in reducing the number of youth suicides with a 25 percent reduction in the number of suicide deaths since 1996. 
Suicide is not only a problem for the young. About 80 percent of suicides now occur in people aged 25 and older and men aged between 25 and 44 years now have the highest suicide rate. The media suggest that removing the restrictions on reporting details of suicide will improve public understanding of the issue and reduce the number of self-inflicted deaths. The Government does not agree. An increasing body of evidence is showing that media reports of suicide can trigger emanative and copy-cat suicides and lead to increases in both the overall number of suicides and the use of a particular method of suicide. 
The Coroners Bill does not prevent the media publicly discussing the issues of suicide. It can restrict the publication of the details of a specific case such as how a person died for important reasons. The Government wants to encourage public discussion and the understanding of suicide but it needs to do it in a safe way that avoids further deaths and respects the privacy of bereaved families. I am confident that the approach we have taken is the right approach. 
Another issue in the bill has been around the retention of body parts and body samples. This is a completely new regime. The Coroners Bill will ensure that body parts and body samples can be taken only for the purposes of the post mortem and that families are notified of the proposed retention and can request the return of the parts and samples. It also restricts how retained parts and samples can be used. These new provisions balance the value of retaining tissues for later examination against the family’s desire to have the tissue returned for cultural spiritual and other reasons. Because the provisions are new we will have to watch to see whether we have the balance right. 
There has also been a lot of discussion around the transition arrangements for existing coroners. Our National colleagues have queried the constitutionality of disestablishing existing coroner positions and the matter of compensation. Moving to a smaller number of coroners is a key element of the new coronial system. The Government has given careful consideration to what should happen to existing coroners. We are disestablishing all the positions so that all coroners are treated equally and judicial independence is maintained. There is no constitutional impropriety about disestablishing existing coroner positions. We are not disestablishing positions to remove any particular coroner and the new coronial system will be a significant improvement. 
The question of compensation has been raised. The bill is clear that former coroners are not eligible for compensation as of right. Most coroners work part-time and are paid fees rather than a salary. All legally qualified coroners are eligible to reapply for appointment under the new Act and experienced coroners are certainly well qualified to be considered for appointment. Reducing the number of coroners has created some concern about a loss of service in provincial areas. Coroners will continue to work in provincial areas as well as the main centres and working full-time means coroners can spend time building relationships with different groups in the local community. The introduction of new coronial systems does not mean that we do not value the old one. 
I want to conclude by thanking all the coroners justices and others who have given dedicated service over the years. They deal with some very sad and difficult cases and their contributions have been invaluable to New Zealand and to their local communities. The time has now come to move forward to a new coronial system that will improve the quality consistency and timeliness of coroners’ investigations and decision making and to take better account of the diverse social cultural and spiritual needs of the family. I commend the bill to the House.