New support coroners will reduce case waits, but is it enough?

Friday, 24 May 2019

Corinda Taylor is still waiting for an inquest into the death of her son Ross six years ago. She says the extra coroners are amazing news. 'But is it enough?'

Eight new relief coroners will be hired to reduce the record backlog of coroner's cases, the Government has promised.

Bereaved families have welcomed the news, but fear it will not be enough to cut their 'devastating' waits for answers.

Justice Minister Andrew Little will today announce plans to appoint eight relief coroners to 'reduce waiting times for grieving families'.

However, the new coroners will not undertake the most time-consuming parts of the job, such as conducting investigations and hearings and writing findings. That raises questions about their ability to significantly cut ballooning case waits.

**READ MORE:

Justice Minister Andrew Little is confident the extra coroners will make a dent in the coroners case backlog.

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* Grieving limbo - five years of waiting and still no answers

* Death duty: A day in the life of a coroner

* Massive fall in coroner's inquests sparks fears of cover-ups**

Little pledged to investigate hiring more coroners in October 2018, after Stuff revealed that in 2017-18 more than four out of 10 coroner's cases were older than 12 months – the worst rate in six years.

Ian Gray is still awaiting an inquest into the death of his son Shaun (pictured), who died at Palmerston North Hospital five years ago.

He said the eight new part-time coroners were equivalent to six fulltime positions. They would take over most of the work of duty coroners, handling cases from the moment police report the death until the body is released from the mortuary.

At present, permanent coroners have to drop ongoing investigations to do 24/7 shifts as duty coroner - something Deputy Chief Coroner Brandt Shortland described as 'like having two jobs'.

Little said freeing up permanent coroners to focus on investigations and inquests should reduce case waits and help conclude cases currently put in the too-hard basket.

'I'm confident that it will make a material difference, especially for the families who have been waiting in some cases many years.'

The new coroners should be in place in three to four months, Little said. The four-year, $7.5 million funding for the initiative will come from the Justice Ministry's existing funding, which was being underspent.

Deputy chief coroner Brandt Shortland has said juggling duty coroner work with ongoing investigations was 'like having two jobs'. The new model is designed to free up permanent coroners from duty coroner shifts.

While families welcomed the extra hands, they questioned whether they would reduce long inquest delays.

Dunedin woman Corinda Taylor lost her son Ross six years ago and the inquest is not expected until November. She said the emotional toll of waiting was 'devastating' so the announcement was 'an amazing move'.

'I think it is a brilliant idea. The question is, is it enough? Will it be able to get rid of the backlog?'

Taylor is also petitioning the government for legal support for suicide-bereaved families.

Ian Gray's son Shaun died of suspected suicide five years ago and he still has no date for his inquest. 'It's day in, day out - it's always there in the back of your mind,' he said in April.

Gray doubted new duty coroners would make much of a dent in painful inquest waits. 'I can't see it, myself.'

Chief Coroner Deborah Marshall declined an interview. In 2018, she said providing a 24/7 duty coroner to respond quickly to new deaths took coroners away from ongoing inquiries.

However, she also pointed out that New Zealand had only 18 fulltime coroners, while the Coroner's Act allowed up to 20. One fulltime coroner has since died.

In April, Shortland suggested another three permanent coroners were needed to cut the case backlog.

Little said he would continue to monitor coroners' caseloads and would still consider increasing the number of permanent coroners, if needed.