Mr NATHAN HAGARTY (Leppington) (10:33): I make a brief contribution in support of the Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment Bill 2025. This is a practical bill that delivers real improvements for people, especially when they are at their most vulnerable. Losing a loved one is never easy, and for most families it is one of the toughest moments they will ever face. During that time they should not have to worry about the fine print, outdated processes or getting the run-around from service providers. The last thing anyone needs is extra stress at a time of immense grief.
The bill strengthens consumer protections in the interment services sector, an area that is often overlooked but deeply important, and ensures that people can trust the system, get fair treatment and have clear pathways for resolving any issues. Let us be honest: When families are arranging a burial or cremation, they are not thinking like customers. They are thinking about their loved ones and just trying to get through the grieving process day by day, hour by hour. That is why it is our job to make sure the system is fair, transparent and easy to navigate, and this bill does just that.
A major part of this reform is strengthening the role of the regulator, Cemeteries and Crematoria NSW, which will be given clearer authority to share information about its compliance activities so that families can make informed choices. If an operator is not doing the right thing, the regulator can step in and call it out. That provides real transparency and, more importantly, also builds trust. Families deserve to know that the people they are dealing with in this sector are acting with integrity. If they are not, the bill gives the regulator additional teeth to step in, speak out and hold bad actors to account. The bill also gives the regulator a clear role in resolving complaints so that families have somewhere to turn when things go wrong. It will not just take notes but also ensure that operators respond and do the right thing. This is about accountability and restoring trust. These reforms are not just bureaucratic tweaks or minor amendments; they are changes that will make a meaningful difference to families across the State.
The bill also cuts red tape, especially around memorial maintenance. Currently, if a person is not the official interment right holder and they cannot dig up old paperwork, which is sometimes over a century old, they can be blocked from fixing or caring for a loved one's grave. That is not just frustrating; frankly, it is disrespectful. The bill fixes that by setting clear, fair rules so that family members and descendants can maintain graves without having to jump through hoops. These are not just plots; they are places of memory that deserve care, not additional red tape and bureaucracy. The bill also responds to a large number of complaints the regulator has received over this exact issue. The Government is not making change just for the sake of it. It is responding to real concerns from the community to make it easier for people to do the right thing.
The changes in the bill build on reforms introduced last year under the Interment Industry Scheme that started the job of bringing greater transparency and consistency to the sector. The bill takes another large step towards finishing that job. It also reflects a government that listens, acts, delivers on its promises, and is focused on good governance but also community outcomes. While I am on the topic, I take this opportunity to highlight something I am particularly proud of in my community. A couple of months ago the Premier was in my electorate of Leppington for the official opening of Macarthur Memorial Park at Varroville. This brand new state‑of‑the‑art cemetery represents exactly the kind of forward-thinking infrastructure the Government believes in. It is the first cemetery on Crown land in the Sydney Basin in about seven or eight decades.
While death is a topic we do not like to think about, interment is an important part of the planning process. We often talk about hospitals, schools, housing, roads and transport, but planning for what happens when we pass away is also important. We need to provide cemeteries and crematoria, because they are a part of what happens in a community. For too long, that has been forgotten about, but this Government is stepping in and fixing the issue, and Macarthur Memorial Park is a perfect example of that. Macarthur Memorial Park is more than just a place to bury the dead; it is a long-term investment in dignity, inclusion and access.
Representatives from many different faiths and denominations were present at the opening of the cemetery, which shows that it will be an inclusive place for people of many faiths as well as people of no faith. This is a long-term investment for my electorate—a very diverse, multicultural part of the world—that will provide understanding and compassion when it comes to the interment of people of different cultures. Different religions and cultures have different procedures and customs for what happens when a loved one passes. Macarthur Memorial Park is aware of that and works with communities and leaders of different faiths and denominations.
Projects like that—and legislation like this bill—demonstrate how seriously this Government takes its responsibility to serve people across every stage of life, including after death. It is important to have a fairer interment industry, stronger protections for families, more responsive oversight, and a system built around not bureaucracy but the needs of people. Every time we debate a bill or propose an amendment, we must keep people front and centre. It is not about what makes things easier for politicians and bureaucrats; it is about what best serves the community. This bill is a perfect example of that principle. I commend the bill to the House.
