6 Nov 2012

Faster repatriation of Maori bodies

6:48 am on 6 November 2012

Efforts are underway to help Maori in Australia speed up the repatriation of deceased relatives to Aotearoa for burial.

Police staff in this country are working with Queensland Police because the current process there is sometimes so slow that it breaches Maori protocol.

Superintendent Wally Haumaha was in Brisbane recently and talked to the QPS, the Maori consultative committee Tutahi Tonu and a Maori funeral director.

When a Maori dies tikanga usually dictates they should be buried within 3 days to allow bereaved families time to mourn over the tupapaku (body).

Superintendent Haumaha says that police in Queensland now appreciate the cultural importance of releasing bodies as soon as possible to their marae for tangihanga or funerals.

He says they talked about how to expedite the procedure for those whanau who wish for their loved ones to go and lie inside their tupuna whare or ancestral meeting house and be buried in their family urupa.

He says a Maori funeral director in Queensland was also pleased those discussions were taking place to accommodate those whanau who want to follow Maori tikanga and give their dearly departed a traditional Maori funeral.

Superintendent Haumaha says there will now be more co-operation with the Queensland Police to allow whanau to send their deceased to Aotearoa more quickly.