amending section 26, codifies and enshrines the best practice and
strikes a good balance.
I commend this bill to the House.
I call Nuk Korako.
Korako.
that I would not... ..this bill, I go back to the report of Maori
go back to the report of Maori Affairs select committee,
go back to the report of Maori Affairs select committee, which
was about... The inquiry undertaken by
the Maori Affairs Committee in
the 51st Parliament.
51st Parliament. Tonight, I want to acknowledge, first of all, the Hon
Metiria Turei, who was responsible
for actually
for actually instigating this particular inquiry.
for actually instigating this particular inquiry. Also
another party, the Green Party, who was
also responsible for developing the terms
of reference actually for the
inquiry.
of reference actually for the inquiry. Also important
to acknowledge parliamentarians
acknowledge parliamentarians who are not here anymore, particularly
Marama Fox from our own Party Maori,
and Chester Borrows. Madam Speaker,
all of these former parliamentarians
were instrumental in guiding
this inquiry to its successful,
believe, conclusion. Can I also acknowledge the
Hon Andrew Little, who has brought
this bill to the House.
Andrew Little, who has brought this bill to the House. And in
our appreciation as to sort of
acknowledging one part of it,
particularly the dignity that we
have for the tupapaku.
So in light of the Maori Affairs
select committee inquiry, we now
have a bill before us tonight that
amends the section 26 of the
Coroners Act 2006. What it does is
that it improves the cultural
considerations
considerations of the coronial system. Because, currently, the Act
does not require coroners to
take cultural considerations
cultural considerations into account.
cultural considerations into account. Under section 26,
they also have a discretion to do so. Looking at it, and listening
to the submitters, a lot of that
discretion actually wasn't
undertaken. So, a number of
the submitters actually reported
that the fact is that they felt
that there was actually a
the fact is that they felt that there was actually 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
whanau regarding access to
initiated in response to many whanau regarding access to management to
the tupapaku
the tupapaku as culturally insensitive. This bill goes quite a
way to address those concerns. Madam
Speaker, while the Maori Affairs
select committee concentrated on
Maori cultural aspects under the
terms of reference, the inquiry,
though, was not purely restricted
just to Maori, but it was,
actually... 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, actually, that
came to submit. When we saw
ethnic communities, actually, that
mean, exactly what Maori was talking about was also what
they were talking about, and they were
experiencing. In regards, then,
to the bill, I think this
very much reflects the bill and, hopefully,
the diversity particularly that is
the
the diversity particularly that is reflected in the over 200
ethnicities that are actually part
of the New Zealand population.
And so, I think, though, more
consideration will need to occur
as we grapple with the
sort of component of the Coroner's work.
Can I finally just say that it was
actually incredibly moving to hold
this inquiry and actually listen to
this inquiry and actually listen to not only those that were whanau but
also to the incredible work that
is done by the coronial services, also
the police as well, medical,
health
they came with their stories and, to me, this is a reflection of the
success of that inquiry.
So, for that reason, we support
this bill to select committee and I
commend this bill to the House.
commend this bill to the House.
I
I call Mark Patterson.
I call Mark Patterson. Sorry, as I just organise myself here for this
bill, the Coroners (Access
to Body of Dead Person) Amendment Bill
bill, the Coroners (Access to Body of Dead Person) Amendment Bill. As
we have heard, this is to amend
section 26 of the