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Families have been forced to keep their dead loved ones in temporary crypts while they wait for a grave, as the NSW government eyes a Sydney golf course to ease a severe shortage of burial space.
Lands and Property Minister Steve Kamper told a budget estimates hearing on Thursday that the city’s dwindling cemetery space was “a chronic problem”, particularly in middle suburban areas.
“There are so many people who are burying people temporarily until they can get an allocation of space,” Kamper said.
Kamper’s remarks underscore the persistent challenge authorities face in balancing Sydney’s surging population with a shortage of available space to bury its dead. The government estimates some public cemeteries will need to start turning away faith groups in less than two years.
A spokesman for Kamper later said the squeeze on space meant many communities were already unable to pre-purchase burial plots in certain sections of Rookwood Cemetery.
“In some cases, families have been required to hold a deceased person in a holding crypt until the deceased can be transferred to a permanent location.”
The spokesman said public cemetery operators are working to optimise the use of existing cemeteries to maximise the availability of burial space.
“However, a pipeline of cemetery land in Sydney is still needed to meet the needs of both current and future customers and avoid exhaustion for some burial-dependent faith groups,” he said.
Responding to the government’s directive to find more land for burials, Metropolitan Memorial Parks put forward a controversial plan to transform the 18-hole Carnarvon Golf Course at Lidcombe into a “modern memorial park” on 45 hectares of Crown land adjacent to Rookwood Cemetery.
Kamper told the hearing a decision on the proposal could be as soon as “one or two months away”.
He said the golf course was in an area that was “already predominantly cemetery operations” adjacent to Rookwood, and it was “probably the most suitable [site] in terms of geographic need”.
“It makes sense to pursue an expansion of the cemetery’s operations there.”
Metropolitan Memorial Parks, which runs eight cemeteries on Crown land in Sydney and Newcastle, in August identified the 75-year-old Lidcombe course as its preferred option for a new cemetery following a review of about 1000 sites. It will prepare a report for Kamper based on community feedback.
“Once I receive that report, we’ll sit down as a government and make a decision,” Kamper said.
Nationals upper house MP Nichole Overall noted the plan was facing strong opposition – including from Cumberland City Council and Auburn Labor MP Lynda Voltz. Overall said that “social licence is paramount” for such developments, particularly in residential areas.
Overall said the golf course was surrounded by homes, and she noted nearby Berala train station was earmarked for 9000 dwellings under the state’s transport-oriented development (TOD) scheme.
Kamper said: “I’ve got a responsibility, as the minister, to deliver burial space for our society, and sometimes it means making tough decisions.”
He said the cemetery could be designed so neighbouring residents “wouldn’t necessarily see old-fashioned-type headstones”.
“You’ve just got to go to [Woronora Memorial Park and Crematorium in] Sutherland or other areas with cemetery space, and see how many people use it to exercise every morning, or walk their dogs.”
Libertarian MP John Ruddick asked Kamper whether the government would consider building a cemetery on the city’s outskirts, where “the land’s cheaper, and it could be more spacious”.
Cemeteries and Crematoria NSW acting chief executive David Raper said there was a “severe undersupply” of burial space in the middle-ring suburbs, and accessibility was important.
Kamper said people often had strong connections to cemeteries, adding: “I don’t think travelling one-and-a-half hours to visit a loved one is ideal. But we’re looking at a variety of options.
“The site we’re referring to, Carnarvon, would probably see us through to [next century]. It solves a problem for a long, long time. It’s right next to the existing operations, it’s naturally a good fit.”
Kamper said the government would honour the club’s lease, which is due to expire in 2035.
“It’s nine years away. That’s why we have to do it now to forward plan for how to manage the space within the existing cemetery. For a cemetery to exist it needs to sell burial plots as well.”
Kamper also faced questions over the government’s proposal to transfer management of 12.7 hectares of Crown land leased by Cammeray Golf Club from North Sydney Council to Golf NSW.
He said the plan was about securing golf at the site and giving the club security; however, the council has said it has no plans to banish golfers once the lease expires in 2029.
Kamper said there was “no arrangement to have an exclusive arrangement with Golf NSW over every golf course in NSW”.
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