Cemeteries and Crematoria NSW has announced the amalgamation of three Crown cemetery managers — Rookwood General, Northern Metropolitan and Southern Metropolitan — in response to the critical shortage of grave sites.
Minister for Lands and Property, Steve Kamper said this would create a single entity that could get on with the job of increasing the supply of graves.
The new entity will be named the Metropolitan Cemeteries and Crematoria Land Manager (MCC).
It follows an audit of Sydney’s Crown cemeteries that revealed multiple religious groups were set to run out of burial space in less than three years.
“The audit found the supply of graves for the Armenian and Antiochian Orthodox faiths will exhaust in three years, as will the supply of graves for Muslim burials. The Eastern Orthodox faith, which includes Greek Orthodox, will run out of graves in four-and-a-half years,” Mr Kamper said.
He noted that burial was the only interment practice available to people of the Muslim and Orthodox faiths.
“The MCC will be tasked with addressing the serious challenges facing the Sydney cemetery and crematoria sector and ensuring respectful and affordable burial and cremation services remain available for all,” the Minister said.
“The MCC will be governed by a new skills-based board which will provide stable leadership, more efficient practices and a strategic long-term vision for the future of the industry.”
