Carnarvon Golf Course cemetery conversion plan debated in NSW parliament after petition received

Critics have come out swinging against the NSW Government’s plans to kill off a Sydney golf course for a cemetery but supporters insisted it was time to stop neglecting a “chronic” lack of burial space.

Protesters at the March for the Living on October 12 at Carnarvon Golf Club.

Armed with a 10,000-signature petition demanding the state government abandon a proposal to convert Carnarvon Golf Course at Lidcombe into a cemetery, a debate was held at NSW parliament on Thursday while calls for an inquiry are in the pipeline.

Before a packed public gallery, opponents urged the State Government to drop the proposal by the Minns Government for Crown operators Metropolitan Memorial Parks to open a cemetery on the golf course and hit out at the government’s lack of community consultation.

Auburn state Labor MP Lynda Voltz presented the petition against her own government and

said the process was “unfair, opaque and disconnected from the community’’.

She told the inquiry the private Strathfield Golf Course bordered Rookwood Cemetery, not Carnarvon and alternative sites were not explored.

Auburn MP Lynda Voltz is at odds with Chris Minns about opening a cemetery at Carnarvon. She said she only found out about the plan through the media. Picture: NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

She said opposite Rookwood, 17 hectares of Crown land at a former Sydney University campus were vacant “yet we’ve received no explanation as to why this wasn’t considered, no logic and no transparency’’.

“Despite claims that over 1000 sites were considered no list has been made public,’’ she said.

The popular Carnarvon Golf Club and course. Picture: Thomas Lisson

“This isn’t about religious access, it’s about a short-sighted, poorly thought-out decision that ignores the whole community. This process was flawed from the start.

“It’s time this government gives western Sydney the same respect it gives to the east.’’

Opposition Crown Lands spokeswoman Stephanie Cooke accused the government and MMP for failing to consult thousands of residents properly.

“Despite repeated calls for transparency the Metropolitan Memorial Parks proceeded with a limited consultation between August 19 and October 19 this year without proper engagement or respect for community sentiment,’’ she said.

Members of the community who oppose the conversion of Carnarvon Golf Course into a cemetery speak out at the Cumberland Council meeting in September.

“The people of Auburn deserve better than a check-box exercise. They deserve to heard because these lands represent the loss of community identity and wellbeing.’’

She said Carnarvon provided $2.8m in social value to the community annually.

“It is vital recreational space, offering families and children the opportunity to play, to breathe and to connect with nature,’’ she said.

“Cemeteries, as necessary as they are, cannot replace that social fabric.’’

Opposition sports spokeswoman Eleni Petinos slammed the government for taking “yet another golf course from the community’’.

“We’ve seen what they’re doing at Moore Park. There is no amount of rejection stopping the Minns Government from steaming ahead on Moore Park.’

“ … That’s the first golf course, now they’re after yours – now they’re after Carnarvon.’’

However Lands and Property Minister Stephen Kamper said planning for cemeteries and burial space had been neglected for “far too long” and the city was running out of space.

Lands and Property Minister Stephen Kamper. Picture: NewsWire /Nikki Short

He said six out of its eight Metropolitan Memorial Parks’ cemeteries would exhaust their burial supply by about 2031 and be completely full a decade after that.

“It’s chronic,’’ he said.

Mt Druitt state Labor MP Edmond Atalla said despite a shortage of burial space in Sydney for 20 years, “for too long it has been met with indecision and inaction”.

“The time for delay is over,’’ he said.

“This government is determined to address the challenge head on and ensure that the needs of all our communities are met now and into the future.

Mr Atalla defended the government’s actions and “tangible steps” undertaken to improve the supply of burial spaces in Sydney and were working closely with Crown operators to unlock additional supply in and around existing cemeteries.

Metropolitan Memorial Parks managers eight cemeteries across Sydney and Newcastle including Rookwood near Carnarvon. It provides almost half of burial space in Sydney.

Several rallies have been held to save Carnarvon Golf Club.

“The process that led Metropolitan Memorial Parks to identify Carnarvon Golf Course as a potential new memorial park site has been rigorous and thorough,’’ Mr Atalla said.

“In fact, their assessment considered over 1000 potential sites within areas of high demand. Location was a key factor in this process.’’

Both ministers vowed Cumberland Council-owned Coleman Park was excluded from the proposal.

CumberlandLabor councillor Envar Yasar is next week due to table a motion at the council meeting calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the golf course proposal and for hearings to be held by mid 2026.

The motion seeks the committee to inquire about the demands for burial land, community consultation, MMP’s strategy for using capacity across its existing cemeteries, along with traffic and parking impacts the proposed development would generate.

An MMP spokesman defended its consultation process and said it was open for two months – double the usual period for public exhibition.

“Metropolitan Memorial Parks has been committed to genuine consultation from the outset regarding the potential opportunity to repurpose Crown land currently being used as the Carnarvon Golf Course,’’ he said.

“MMP is focused on providing feedback from the consultation process to the government who will ultimately make a decision about the future use of the site. The current Crown land lease expires in 2035.’’

Originally published as Carnarvon Golf Course cemetery conversion plan debated in NSW parliament after petition received