The Anglican Church said it would be impossible to maintain its cemeteries without an increase in burial plot prices following the sell-off of churches across Tasmania.
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On Sunday, Lyons Labor MHA Jen Butler said changes to the Burial and Cremation Act would mean a significant increase in the cost of burials with a burial plot increasing from between $500 to $1000 up to between $15,000 and $20,000.
Ms Butler described the move as "an unjustifiable money grab".
Anglican Bishop of Tasmania Dr Richard Condie said with a declining and aging rural population it would be impossible to maintain cemeteries by volunteer labour for 100 years after the last burial and, therefore, costs will necessarily increase.
"This is a point we made clearly to the government last year during the consultation on the new Burial and Cremation Act," Bishop Condie said.
"The government chose to change the act and in effect pass on these increased costs to ordinary Tasmanians."
Bishop Condie said the church opposed the changes because it was concerned about these costs being passed on.
"All monies charged for burials are held in trust for the maintenance of cemeteries. We would welcome any scrutiny of our modelling by external authorities," Bishop Condie said.
"If Ms Butler cares about rural communities, she can advocate for changes to the legislation, when it is next reviewed, to keep costs down. We would be happy to work with her on this."
A government spokesman said cemeteries are managed by a range of organisations including church groups, councils and private operators.
"There is no evidence since the act was amended that there has been a significant increase in burial costs," the spokesperson said.