Question On Notice No. 1328 asked in the Legislative Council on 12 June 2018 by Hon Tjorn Sibma
Question Directed to the: Leader of the House representing the Minister for Local Government
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
Can the Minister for Local Government please advise:
(a) what advice the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board and other cemetery boards provide to families of the deceased on the time periods that are applicable to burial plots;
(b) does the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board and other cemetery boards advise families when the lease of a burial plot is due to expire, if so, when and what options are provided and, if not, why not;
(c) does the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board and other cemetery boards advise families when headstones and memorials are removed from expired burial plots;
(d) what safeguards and protocols are in place to ensure that headstones and memorials when removed are not damaged;
(e) are these headstones and memorials stored or disposed of and, if so, how; and
(f) are options provided to families to retain these headstones and memorials?
Answered on 21 August 2018
(a) Section 25 of the Cemeteries Act 1986 (the Act) states that a grant of a right of burial may be granted for an initial term of 25 years and may be renewed for a further term of 25 years. The State’s cemetery boards, and local governments that are performing the functions of a cemetery board, operate in accordance with the Act.
(b) No, it is not a requirement of the Act.
(c) Yes
(d) Each cemetery board, and local government that is performing the functions of a cemetery board, has its own policies and procedures to ensure that any memorials that are removed are not damaged in the process.
(e) Section 39 of the Act specifies that the cemetery board, or local government that is performing the functions of a cemetery board, is to erect a memorial containing the names and other such details of deceased persons buried in the redevelopment area when a memorial is removed as part of the redevelopment process. Each board or local government will have its own policies and procedures in relation to their storage and/or disposal.
(f) Cemetery boards, and local governments that are performing the functions of a cemetery board, may give permission for a memorial to be removed, under section 30(3) of the Act.