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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-03-25 Daily Xml
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Bills

Coroners (Undetermined Natural Causes) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 24 March 2020.)

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:32): I rise to thank honourable members—or an honourable member I think—for their contribution to the second reading of the Coroners bill. The reason for the slight delay is that you are going to have to look at me as the Hon. Connie Bonaros because I am about to—on the honourable member's behalf, given her inability to be here this afternoon—summarise the views that she would wish to put on behalf of herself and SA-Best in relation to the Coroners bill.

The Hon. E.S. Bourke: You need to put on some high heels.

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I think it is fair to say the honourable member believes this to be the second best option. Clearly, she would prefer to be here but I did give an undertaking that I would do my very best to try to faithfully represent the views that she would wish to put, albeit not quote her word for word. The remainder of this contribution is a summation as best as I can of the honourable member's position on the second reading of the Coroners bill on behalf of SA-Best.

The member, Ms Bonaros, acknowledges that we live in unprecedented times and that SA-Best will do everything it can to support responses to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The honourable member points out that she had a Coroners (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill on the Notice Paper in 2019 and for the past 10 years or so has been a strong and outspoken advocate for sweeping reforms to the Coroners Act 2003. Had she not been absent from the chamber this week she was intending to give notice of the reintroduction of her 2019 bill as a 2020 bill, to which the government's bill before us today could have been a simple amendment.

The honourable member points out that, as the Attorney-General has noted, her bill was developed some months ago, well before the outbreak of COVID-19 and its impacts were contemplated. The member points out that the Coroner had requested changes some time ago and the Law Society of South Australia was given a draft of the bill on 27 February 2020. The member said:

Of course SA-BEST will not stand in the way of urgent legislation, but it is somewhat disappointing that we only became aware of this Bill yesterday when it was tabled in the House of Assembly, and we are being asked to vote on it today with no briefing and 24 hours to consider it.

I interpose here, and this is me speaking rather than the honourable member: as I understand it a briefing had been offered but the honourable member was obviously unable to take up the offer of the briefing. I return to the Hon. Ms Bonaros' contribution where she said that she would expect the government to be open to revisiting the wider suite of reforms required to the Coroners Act 2003 and the actual impacts of this bill at a later time. The honourable member said:

We recognise we have to support the Bill as it is, however, we would have liked to see a provision for a review and a sunset clause in the Bill, especially since it is retrospective in its operation—that is, pre COVID-19.

The honourable member said they would have also liked to have seen the suggestion of the Law Society of South Australia for a safeguard clause requiring the Coroner to provide a brief report of the reasonable grounds on which he, the Coroner, has based his decision that it was an undetermined death by natural causes to have been included.

The honourable member points out that the sign-off of the senior available next of kin should have been markedly improved as this person is placed in a very powerful position in the bill. The honourable member says it was of some comfort that the Coroner can still pursue an investigation even if the senior available next of kin does not support it. The honourable member then goes on to say, and I quote:

Nevertheless, SA-BEST supports the Bill because we have long recognised the Coroner's workload was already untenable on the inadequate budget it is allocated by this Government.

I will not respond, Mr President, with my views in relation to that. The honourable member then said:

We also recognise that Forensic Science SA pathologists have been straining under their workload and limited budget for some time.

COVID-19 is going to have huge resourcing implications for both the Coroner's Court and Forensic Science SA services and we support anything—

that is, the honourable member's party—

we can do to assist them throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The honourable member concludes by saying that it is still her intention to reintroduce her bill and work through all of the issues confronting the Coroner's jurisdiction and their broader implications on our community. Her bill, she indicates, will include a review of these provisions post COVID-19. With that, Mr President, I hope the Hon. Ms Bonaros, on behalf of SA-Best, believes that I have fairly represented and re-presented her views to the chamber in relation to the position on the bill.

The bottom line is that whilst she has expressed some concerns she, as I said and I quoted, nevertheless supports the bill—'nevertheless, SA-BEST supports the bill,' etc. With that, I conclude my contribution on the second reading.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

Bill taken through committee without amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:40): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

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