Hipango HareteHARETE HIPANGO (National—Whanganui): Kia ora to the Minister of Justice seated beside you Mr Chair; I acknowledge you both in addressing the committee today on the Coroners (Access to Body of Dead Person) Amendment Bill. It's said that there are two certain things in life: taxes and death. This bill is to ensure that it is a least taxing experience for those with a recently deceased person or member of their family/whānau.May I just turn to the time line in the passage of this bill. It's noted that the Māori Affairs Committee initiated an inquiry into whānau access and management of tūpāpaku the deceased's body during the period of 2 March 2016 through to 26 July 2017. I was elected as a member of Parliament and didn't join the Māori Affairs Committee until the end of last year so I've come in this rather belatedly with the discussions that have been before the select committee. On 14 August last year the inquiry report was presented to the House so things had been very much traversed as a foregone conclusion by the time that I did join those discussions noting that on 10 April 2018 this bill was referred to the Māori Affairs Committee and I was part of those discussions with eight submissions heard and two of those orally presented.I'm just going to turn to the detail outlined here in the bill and just state that the Coroners Act of 2006 is what this bill is seeking to amend particularly section 26 in terms of those matters as has been submitted or proposed under clause 4 of the bill to be factored in as considerations to be balanced against all of those other I believe eight considerations. But the context of this coronial framework is around a certain type of death and those deaths are specific to sudden or unexplained deaths or deaths in special circumstances. So that is the ambit or the reach that the coroner must factor and take into account in whether or not a post-mortem or an autopsy is to occur.Section 3 of the Coroners Act itself details the purpose of the Act. I think it's important that we do reflect and turn to what the purpose is about because it details there that in so far as preventing deaths or promoting justice through the investigation and identification of the causes and circumstances of as I said sudden or unexplained deaths section 3(2) outlines how to achieve that purpose. That's where there is first mention under paragraph (b) of a recognition for both the cultural and spiritual needs of the family alongside public good factors. So there is mention within the Coroners Act around the significance of cultural and spiritual needs. I'm going to address other sections within the Coroners Act before I do get to clause 4 because it is relevant.Clause 4 is making the amendment by way of this bill to section 26 specifically with an amendment to insert section 26(2)(ea) and that reference is specifically to take into account where a coroner must before authorising whether or not a person who under section 25 would be permissible to either view touch or remain with or near the body the tūpāpaku—it is about whether or not it is deemed the significance of (ea) the ethnic origins social attitudes or customs or spiritual beliefs of the person"—and it's further detailed there that that particular relationship to the deceased person is balanced up and taken into account alongside all of those other factors. So it doesn't give specific priority; it's a balancing act as that being one of the interests in whether or not alongside all of those other interests it takes priority.I'm just going to quickly turn to what I'll address in the third reading before the House: that the other factors specific to cultural spiritual significance are section 32(f) and section 37(2)(c). This bill is specific not to tikanga Māori practices but to spiritual and cultural beliefs. Thank you Mr Chair."