Legal advisers urge Govt to tighten law to weed out cellphone and stationwagon operators.
Toughening undertaker registration should weed out cowboys on the industry's fringes, the Law Commission says -- some of whom operate without premises and use a cellphone and stationwagon.
The commission has released its sweeping, five-year report on New Zealand's burial and cremation law, and recommends the Burial and Cremation Act 1964 be repealed.
Its recommendations include letting any person apply to the local council for burial on private rural land if the cemetery was intended for no more than five bodies.
Dr Wayne Mapp, the lead commissioner, said at present it was near-impossible to get permission for private burials, and people in rural areas should be given the opportunity to make a case for them.
That would not lead to widespread burials on private land as in some countries, Dr Mapp said, and councils could decline applications and would be rightly concerned with tying up land forever once a burial took place.
The Law Commission report is the first official review of burial and funeral practices in the country's history, and could see a number of recommendations become law.
Dr Mapp said while funeral directors must be registered to the local authority, there are no preconditions to registry. That should change to include qualification for embalmers and directors, he said.
Another concern was that people could be hit with unexpected charges and costs, and the commission wants customers to be provided with an itemised statement of costs before a contract is signed.
Such changes would align cowboy operators with the vast majority of the industry.
"There has been a growth ... of people who [don't] have premises as such. And a lot of the problems have come from them ... they seem to have a cellphone, a vehicle and [little else]. Of course, they don't do embalming," Dr Mapp said.
Katrina Shanks, the Funeral Directors' Association chief executive, said it strongly backed the recommendations around enhanced registration for those in the industry.
"It will really take away the ability for someone to have what we call a cellphone and a stationwagon -- to be able to pick up a body and take it to the crematorium. Because they will actually have to have some form of qualification."
Other recommendations from Death, Burial and Cremation: A new law for contemporary New Zealand, include creating a new offence for lower-level examples of improperly treating a dead human body. That would enable convictions and fines for behaviour such as the inappropriate storage of bodies -- such actions are often not prosecuted because the current penalty is imprisonment of up to two years.
The law currently does not recognise a deceased person's wishes as to how their funeral should be carried out. The commission wants that rectified by allowing people to appoint a trusted person as a "deceased's representative".
In cases where there is a deceased's representative and an executor of the will, the deceased representative will make decisions about the funeral and body leaving the executor to oversee the estate.
As well as allowing the establishment of deceased's representatives, the commission said the rules and processes should be clarified when there is a dispute between family as to how or where a person is buried.
Currently, only the High Court can resolve such disagreements. This should be widened to include the Family Court or the Maori Land Court, the report suggests.
Peter Kimber (left) and Katie Williams from Rotorua measuring up for building their own coffins. Photo / Tracey Robinson
Building coffins as they chat
Every Wednesday about 50 senior citizens meet to chat - and build a coffin or two.
The Rotorua Kiwi Coffin Club has been running for five years, and founder Katie Williams, 77, said although the construction did save money, the real purpose was to achieve a project and socialise.
While more skilled members normally build the coffin structure, the subsequent painting and decorating can reflect members' personalities.
Some did wallpapering, others were good at painting, she said. The club put on meals twice a day and many members enjoyed the company, which they really needed.
"Some just come for the cuddles because they never get touched otherwise."
Mrs Williams' coffin was one of the first to be completed, save for an inner plastic liner.
The decoration is wallpaper, "$20 on special in the odd-roll bin at Guthrie Bowron".
While members' families were initially reluctant to be involved, more were coming around.
"All this spooky-wooky about dying and death and coffins and things, it needed to change, and it is."
The coffin club is an example of more Kiwis opting for "DIY funerals" - where families provide elements of the funeral themselves.
The Law Commission has noted the trend after a review of funeral and burial practices. Commissioner Dr Wayne Mapp said it reflected a changing attitude to dealing with death.
"There is a degree of personalisation that exists now ... a greater desire for families to be involved."
