Page 655 - Week 02 - Thursday, 20 February 2020
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that their needs were not catered for in the ACT. Our community consultation also found that many members of our community have previously had to travel interstate in order to farewell their family and friends.
In the Hindu tradition, last rites are usually carried out by family members, and they should be performed in the first 24 hours after someone has died. During this time, the eldest son takes on the role of lead mourner, which may be filled by another male mourner or priest if there is no son. After that, mourners provide the last bath and dress the body, preparing it for viewing by loved ones followed by cremation. The body is wrapped in a cloth and carried by family and friends to a funeral pyre where the lead mourner prays over the body. The lead mourner then lights the pyre, and mourners gather to witness the cremation. Afterwards, the ashes are consecrated in water, usually a river or the sea. While the Hindu funeral today may not involve an outdoor funeral pyre, this legislation will allow family members to be closely involved in the cremation process and will allow the lead mourner to carry out his duty in beginning the cremation.
Members of the Sikh and Jain communities farewell their loved one in a similar manner, with family members washing and preparing the body, often for cremation. These faiths all hold that certain prayers must be chanted over the body, and it is important that family members are able to say these prayers and perform certain rituals to ensure that the body is properly prepared for the afterlife that pertains to their religion.
Through reviewing the bill, the ACT government discovered that Hindus, Sikhs and Jains in Canberra are frequently unable to properly honour their loved ones and often travel to Sydney to ensure that they are able to properly participate in funeral services. We as Canberrans pride ourselves on living in an inclusive, progressive city, and it is vital that these values are reflected in how members of our community are supported in all events, including the loss of loved ones.
This new legislation will fill in the gaps in the existing Cemeteries and Crematoria Act, making funeral arrangements more respectful and appropriate for our diverse community. In particular, this legislation will make it an offence for a provider to refuse any reasonable request that is made on cultural or religious grounds, which I hope will allow members of our community to properly say goodbye.
As well as the need for new operating requirements, the public consultation undertaken by the government in 2018 found that many Canberrans want a publicly operated crematorium in Canberra. We will be building a new crematorium at the Gungahlin cemetery. At present, Canberra has only one crematorium servicing all 425,000 people within this jurisdiction. By contrast, New South Wales has one crematorium per 150,000 people. This is despite 75 per cent of Canberrans using cremation, compared to 66 per cent of people from New South Wales.
I am particularly pleased that this new facility will be built in Gungahlin, as Yerrabi is the most multicultural electorate in the ACT. A new crematorium in the electorate will be incredibly helpful in ensuring that members of our community who were previously forced to travel or make alternative arrangements to farewell their loved
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