Culture ignored in coroner shift

Culture ignored in coroner shift

Ngāti Ruanui is challenging the Justice Ministry’s decision to move coronial services out of Taranaki.

Chief executive Debbie Ngarewa Packer says the decision seems to be based on the Taranaki Base Hospital mortuary not meeting new accreditation standards.

It was made without the cultural consideration the 2006 Coroners Act requires.

She says it means in cases of sudden death requiring an autopsy or post mortem, whānau will have to travel out of the region to support the deceased.

"One of the things we’ve been told is there is absolutely nothing set up to receive our whānau so there’s no car parks, there’s no whare, there’s no counsellor, there’s no kai tautoko, there’s nothing. For Justice to say this is going to be a better, seamless process for our whānau, it’s going to be a better way for us to achieve our cultural aspirations, is just kei te hē tērā," Ms Ngarewa Packer says.

She says at a time Māori suicide statistics are on the rise it’s not right to create situations that will disrupt the grieving process.

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