Burial plots running out but minister rejects cemetery privatisation By Julie Power
1 May 2018 — 4:11pm
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A $1 billion plan to privatise Sydney's cemeteries by the giant funeral, coffin and cremation company InvoCare in partnership with the Catholic Church has been ruled out by the NSW Minister for Lands, Paul Toole.
Speaking at the opening of a new Jewish cemetery at Rookwood Necropolis on Tuesday, Mr Toole said the government was considering a report on how to create much needed new burial space, but privatisation of cemeteries was not the answer.
Some inner Sydney cemeteries could be exhausted by 2020, according to a projection based on 2015 figures in the Metropolitan Sydney Cemetery Capacity Report. Others could be exhausted by 2026. And across metropolitan Sydney, all cemeteries would be full by 2051 unless further action is taken.
David Knoll of the Jewish Board of Deputies and Rabbi Yoram Ulman during the consecration ceremony at Rookwood Cemetery.
Photo: Dominic Lorrimer
The situation is most dire for those who bury their dead, such as those of the Jewish and Muslim faiths, which now have cemetery space at Rookwood for 10 years at most.
Mr Toole said there were no plans for Cabinet to consider the unsolicited privatisation plan that was submitted to government last year by investment advisors Fabrico with the Catholic Church and Invocare. "As the minister, that's something I am not entertaining," he said.
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It is understood the privatisation proposal argued that the Catholic Church and Invocare had the cash, resources and commercial skills that the government-run cemetery trusts lacked, to buy new land and fund the care of cemeteries in perpetuity.
"There are no plans to privatise cemeteries in this state," said Mr Toole. "Cemeteries are running under trust, and I see the benefits and good work they do in representing the communities and the different faiths we have here in this state.
"We must remember [death and mourning] is a time of dignity and respect, and this is what needs to be considered when we think about cemeteries in NSW."
Members of the Jewish community blow on shofars during the ceremony at Rookwood Cemetery.
Photo: Dominic Lorrimer
The new Jewish cemetery, known as Lot 27, will provide another 1792 allotments. But Jewish burial will cease - because of lack of space - at Rookwood within a decade, said the chief executive of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Vic Alhadeff. Long before Rookwood, Jewish burials at other Sydney cemeteries would also have run out, said Mr Alhadeff.
For those of the Muslim faith, the need for more burial space is even more crucial – the burial place for Muslims at Rookwood, Lot 10, is running out of space at an even faster rate. That’s why the Jewish community ceded its remaining space in another burial area at Rookwood to the Muslims, and negotiated to consecrate a new space for the Jewish community.
The NSW Government is considering a report that is expected to propose a range of initiatives to address the lack of cemetery space in greater Sydney. Very often councils have voted to block cemeteries from being built.
Mr Alhadeff said on at least two occasions "sound proposals" to address the need for a new cemetery had been blocked. Rookwood's plan to expand near the historic Fernhill Estate homestead at Mulgoa was opposed by the community and council.
"Competing interests have overridden the burial needs of the NSW community, " said Mr Alhadeff.
And time was fast running out, he said, urging the government to act quickly.
"The measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable. There is surely no sector that is ultimately more exposed, more vulnerable, more reliant on others to advocate for them than those who have passed on," said Mr Alhadeff. RELATED ARTICLE
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Mr Toole said the government was aiming to develop a strategy to find suitable land to serve for the next 50 to 100 years.
"We are running out of space, and we know for good planning, we need to make sure we are finding future land for burials. And this needs to consider all faiths, and different cultures."
To consecrate the new burial ground, Rabbi Yoram Ulman and others walked around the perimeter seven times, stopping each time to blow shofars.
He was bit out of breath from the walking, but Rabbi Ulman said the ceremony was designed to remind us that "life is not an accident, we are put here on purpose".
It was possible to get more out of attending a "house of mourning" than attending a wedding. When a person is attending a wedding, they are happy, they think about today, Rabbi Ulman said quoting King Solomon.
"But when a person is faced with a place like this, surrounded by graves, a person is forced to ask themselves the perennial question: What are my priorities in life. What am I here for?"
Does this mean the government going to create more "public" plots? Rather then let IVC take care of it?
IVC Price at posting:
$12.95 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
