Catholics dig in on Sydney cemetery takeover

Top Catholic may mount a legal challenge to halt NSW plan forcing it to relinquish oversight of cemeteries.

Sydney’s Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher. Picture: Toby Zerna

Sydney’s highest-ranking Catholic is hoping to mount a last-ditch legal challenge to prevent the NSW government from forcing it to relinquish oversight of some of the city’s oldest ­cemeteries.

The Australian has learned Archbishop Anthony Fisher is among several prominent Catholic leaders to seek legal advice from a barrister on Tuesday after a number of planned reforms were outlined in a letter to crown cemetery trusts on Monday.

The overhaul, led by Property Minister Melinda Pavey, will see a consolidation of five crown cemetery trusts – including the Catholic Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust – which manage burial sites across NSW. They will be amalgamated into an entity known as OneCrown whose board, which is yet to be appointed, will select a single cemetery operator.

Catholic leaders have been lobbying intensively against Ms Pavey’s plan, which has also been opposed by some prominent members of the Berejiklian ministry. Catholic leaders fear a secularisation of the industry under the proposal, but also that they will be marginalised out of the sector and deprived of adequate seats on the OneCrown board.

A spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney declined to comment when contacted.

An official familiar with the matter said a telephone hook-up was held with Catholic leaders on Tuesday morning, including with the archbishop’s secretary, to initiate legal proceedings against the government to seek an injunction against the decision.

A barrister is understood to have been briefed on the matter and is expected to provide further advice on legal avenues available on Wednesday. Discussions are understood to also have been held between Archbishop Fisher and senior members of the Berejiklian government.

“The archbishop’s office is looking at all legal avenues available to them to stop this proceeding,” the official said.

“The intention is to look at whatever avenues are available to stop this.”

The need for reform in the ­sector was prompted by a ­government-commissioned inquiry, known as the 11th Hour report, which found Sydney’s cemeteries were fast running out of space and, in the case of some trusts, facing financial ruin.

The Catholic Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust had been the exception to this standard, the report found. It proposed two alternative consolidation models in which the CMCT would be central to cemetery operations.

The trust’s chairman, former NSW attorney-general Greg Smith, said he was mystified as to why these models were ignored.

Rookwood General Cemeteries acting chief executive Lee Shearer has been appointed interim administrator of OneCrown, which replicates a model of cemetery operators employed in Western Australia, Victoria, the ACT and South Australia.

Ms Shearer defended the decision to consolidate the sector’s operators, saying it would save the state $300 million and keep the industry competitive.

“As each cemetery closes, it puts more pressure on the remaining cemeteries … because people are looking to them and they use up more land. Land and affordability are huge issues, along with efficiency in how services are delivered,” she said.

“The next six months or so will be all about working within the businesses to work out the best model to deliver the best value.”

Ms Pavey said consolidating cemetery operators would ensure burial spaces remained “accessible and affordable”.