The official welcome for three new coroners based in Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner
The official welcome for three new coroners based in Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner
The appointment of three new coroners based in Rotorua covering the Central North Island hopes to cut the national backlog that is seeing families having to wait too long to have rulings made about their loved ones' deaths.
Coroners Bruce Hesketh, Donna Llewell and Heidi Wrigley were officially welcomed inRotorua yesterday by Rotorua courthouse staff with a pōhiri at the Māori Land Court.
The coroners started working in Rotorua in March but the Covid-19 lockdown prevented a welcome from being held at the time.
Hesketh and Llewell will be full-time and Wrigley is part-time. They replace long-standing coroner Wallace Bain who retired in March after a 28-year career.
A hongi to welcome the new staff members between Chief Coroner Deborah Marshall and Steven Dodd. Photo / Andrew Warner
The Government allocated $7.5 million in last year's Budget to fund eight new coroners and support staff to fulfil the roles.
The average time it took to close a coronial case in 2018/2019 was 344 days.
Chief Coroner Deborah Marshall, who attended yesterday's welcome, told those present there was still a national backlog of 5000 cases, something which she hoped the additional staff would reduce.
Chief Coroner Deborah Marshall talks at yesterday's official welcome. Photo / Andrew Warner
She said since the funding allocation, six full-time coroners had resigned or retired, meaning there were still some vacancies to fill.
But she said it was hoped with new staff on board, investigations could be done quicker.
"At the heart of our work is finality to the whanau of [those who have died]. To let them know the cause and circumstances of death and make some comments to maybe prevent similar deaths occurring in the future. Because we do that, it's important our work is done in a timely way."
The three new coroners will be based in Rotorua but they will cover the entire central North Island area and share the role of duty coroner – a rotating responsibility that involves being on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, dealing with sudden deaths around the country.
Chief Coroner Deborah Marshall (second from left) with new coroners Heidi Wrigley, Bruce Hesketh and Donna Llewell. Photo / Supplied
The new coroners
Coroner Bruce Hesketh
Bruce Hesketh has been practising law for 25 years after a career as a police officer, spending time based in Rotorua. He is a partner at Adams Hesketh, a specialist litigation practice and worked as a lawyer in Rotorua.
He has served three terms as Waikato Bay of Plenty Law Society president and has been a manager at the Public Defence Service. He has previously taught at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies.
He was born in Taihape and is affiliated to Ngāi Tahu.
Coroner Donna Llewell
Donna LLewell has been a senior solicitor at Te Papa Atawhai, Department of Conservation. She has a Master and Bachelor of Laws, a Bachelor of Arts in Māori and a Diploma in French studies.
She has previously also been in-house legal counsel for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council since 2016, a counsel with the Crown Law Office, legal adviser to the Autonomous Bougainville Authority and senior associate with Chen Palmer.
She is a competent speaker of te reo Māori and her iwi is Ngā Puhi.
She was born in Te Puke and attended Whakarewarewa Primary School, then as a teenager lived and was raised in Kaingaroa Village.
In 1999, the Rev Pihopa Manuhuia Bennett of Te Arawa bestowed her name "Pīpīwharauroa".
Coroner Heidi Wrigley
Heidi Wrigley started her career as a High Court Judges' Clerk and holds Bachelor of Laws and Science as well as a Master of Laws from the University of Auckland.
From 2004 to 2016 she was a senior crown prosecutor in Tauranga before contracting to do prosecution work for the Crown solicitors in Tauranga and Rotorua.
She was born in Matamata and lives in Tauranga.
She has two children with her police officer husband.
