Sydney has a grave problem: Is Australia's largest city running out of cemeteries?

Daily death rates are rising, yet our cemeteries aren’t expanding. The long-standing cemetery scarcity in Sydney is getting worse. According to a recent audit, the capital of New South Wales will run out of burial space for multiple faith groups in less than three years. The acute cemetery scarcity in Australia’s largest metropolis is so severe that some people are no longer able to pre-book burial space at publicly owned cemeteries. Let’s take a closer look. Also read: Parents are locking their daughter's graves in Pakistan, but why? Sydney’s long-standing cemetery scarcity  According to a New South Wales (NSW) Planning Department audit of Sydney cemeteries, within three years, there won’t be any room for Islamic and Antiochian Orthodox burials in Australia’s largest cemetery, Rookwood. The audit revealed that Macedonian Orthodox burial grounds will run out in about two and a half years, while the Eastern Orthodox religion, which includes Greek Orthodox, will run out of graves in southern Sydney in 4.5 years. The Planning Department’s audit that Crown-operated cemeteries in Macquarie Park and Frenchs Forest for Antiochian and Armenian Orthodox faiths will run out of graves in three years, as will the supply of graves for Muslim burials. According to a copy of the audit that this masthead has seen, “Some burial-reliant faith groups are expected to run out of allocated supply at some Crown cemeteries within the next five years, with some unable to pre-plan purchases to meet the needs of their families and loved ones.” It should be noted here that burial is the only interment practice used by people of the Muslim and Orthodox believers. The audit comes after an independent evaluation revealed “considerable” weaknesses in OneCrown’s governance framework, reported Melbourne-based Greek newspaper Neos Kosmos outlet. [caption id=“attachment_12619842” align=“alignnone” width=“630”] Rookwood General, Northern Metropolitan, and Southern Metropolitan have combined into one entity due to grave circumstances. Pixabay[/caption] The crucial shortfall is getting worse as NSW Lands Minister Steve Kamper prepares to formally announce the implementation of a “two operator” model on Friday, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The Catholic Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust, which is the owner of a brand-new cemetery in Varroville in Sydney’s southwest, is anticipated to continue operating as a result of a move made by Labour to resolve a long-standing government dispute with the church that was sparked by the previous Coalition government’s proposal to combine all cemetery trusts into a single operator. The audit claimed that consolidating certain current cemetery trusts would “improve the collective financial and operational sustainability of the Crown operators” and would enable them to gain more space. However, some cemetery trusts have been found to have financial liabilities totalling hundreds of millions of dollars. But the audit also demonstrates how challenging it can be to locate a fresh property for graves for the deceased in one of the most expensive cities in the world while there is a severe housing scarcity. “Identifying suitable cemetery sites in Sydney is not a straightforward exercise. Conventional burial practices and cemetery designs are land-intensive,” the audit found. “The cost of land in Sydney is high, and potentially suitable land is increasingly sought after for new housing supply and other priority uses.” Also read: Sydney to host Quad leaders’ summit on May 24, says Anthony Albanese Severe financial liability The amount of money needed to establish new cemeteries ranges between $200 million (~Rs 16.54 crore) and $300 million (~Rs 24.82 crore). Pinegrove Memorial Park, a crematorium near Minchinbury that was founded more than 50 years ago, was the final cemetery constructed in Sydney. Sydney’s population has increased by approximately three million since it was founded in 1962, according to City Hub. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Greater Sydney will reach about 6.1 million people by 2033, generating questions about the affordability of burial alternatives for residents as well as the availability of land.. The lack of strategic planning on the part of the Crown has also frustrated religious communities due to a lack of burial land, passive regulation, and rising prices (reflective of the supply-demand imbalance). For the unversed, OneCrown was launched by the Berejiklian Liberal government in 2021 in a bid to merge NSW’s five large crown cemetery operators and ward off financial collapse. But indecision on the project’s future halted key investment decisions and led to the resignation of one in three staff. Also read: Fifth Hindu temple vandalised in Australia by Khalistani supporters, anti-India slogans sprayed with graffiti Tackling the ‘grave’ crisis Rookwood General, Northern Metropolitan, and Southern Metropolitan have combined into one entity due to grave circumstances, reported The Guardian. The NSW government said the new metropolitan cemeteries and crematoria land manager will be entrusted with tackling the serious challenges the Sydney cemetery and crematoria sector is facing. It will also ensure respectful and affordable burial and cremation services remain available for all. According to lands and property minister Steve Kamper on Friday, “This merger will provide certainty for the industry, staff and consumers and a clear path to better manage our cemeteries so that the city’s burial needs are met and we can identify new efficiencies.” “The independent report that was released last month highlighted the disaster that the previous government created through indecision and infighting. We will not make the same mistakes,” Kamper said. Additionally, the audit also states that Sydney’s excess public land is being audited as part of the Labour government’s investigation into new cemetery expansions. It said, “The NSW government is looking into a number of options, including repurposing existing government land as well as potential purchases of new sites,” with some estimates placing the price of the land required in western Sydney at $120 million (~Rs 9.92 crore). The proposal has encountered fierce opposition from some community organisations as well as delays, despite identifying the Catholic trust-run Macarthur Memorial Park in Varroville as having the capacity to supply roughly 136,000 burial places over a 100-year period. The audit said that it was “a good start,” but added that “more supply within Sydney is needed.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.