As d-day approaches for the Anglican Church’s sale of its properties, a new burials and cremation bill has passed both houses of parliament.
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The Anglican Church will decide in December which of the 107 properties, including 76 churches, will be sold to partly fund the national redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse.
The church will not say when the Diocesan Council will make the decision, nor when it will be made public.
Anglican Bishop of Tasmania Richard Condie was disappointed that the Burial and Cremation Amendment Bill 2018 was not amended in the Legislative Council.
“Our motivation in arguing against these changes was to keep costs as low as possible for Tasmanians, and we will work with local parish cemetery managers on the best application of the new legislation,” he said.
“We genuinely believe that the costs associated with the revised Act will adversely affect Tasmanians and will work hard to minimise these where we can.”
Attorney-General Elise Archer and Liberal member for Prosser Jane Howlett welcomed the new legislation.
“The bill provides for greater accountability in the management of cemeteries, without imposing any significant or unreasonable cost increase upon cemetery managers, and provides checks and balances to ensure probity in the sale and closure processes,” Ms Archer said.
Ms Howlett said the proposed church sales had caused great “stress and confusion” and the church had “seemingly ignored” the concerns of many Tasmanians.
“A loss of a local church would have similar ramifications to a community losing its school, as churches play a significant role in the spiritual, mental and social fabric of small communities,” she said.
“While I understand the Anglican Church is seeking to divest itself of properties in part to fund its liability to the National Redress Scheme, it has seemingly ignored the concerns of parishioners and the community.
“I urge leaders of the Anglican Church to listen to the concerns of their community when they soon make their final deliberation on local church sales.”