Chief Coroner of New Zealand

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The Chief Coroner of New Zealand is the most senior coroner in New Zealand, and supervises the work of other coroners in that jurisdiction. The post was created by the passing into law of the Coroners Act 2006, and the first Chief Coroner, Neil MacLean, was named in December 2006 and took up the role in February 2007. [1] The Coroners Act sets a statutory limit of 20 coroners; as of November 2022, there were 17 coroners based in nine centres, in addition to the Chief Coroner. [2]

Office holders

Since 2007, three people have held the position of Chief Coroner. With some of their major inquests, they are:

NamePortraitTerm of officeNotable inquestsSources
1Judge Neil MacLean Neil MacLean QSO (cropped).jpg 2007–2015 Pike River Mine disaster
Christchurch earthquakes
[3]
2Judge Deborah Marshall Deborah Marshall 2020 (cropped).jpg 2015–2022 Christchurch mosque shootings
2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption
[4]
3Judge Anna Tutton No image.png 2022–present [5]

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References

  1. "First Chief Coroner appointed". New Zealand Government. 22 December 2006. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  2. "Chief Coroner & coroners". Ministry of Justice. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  3. "Queen's Birthday Honours 2015 – citation for Companion of the Queen's Service Order". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  4. "Chief Coroner Judge Deborah Marshall steps down after 7 years". The New Zealand Herald . 8 July 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  5. "New Chief Coroner appointed". New Zealand Government. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.