Auckland cemetery plot fee rise outrageous

Auckland cemetery plot fee rise outrageous, say funeral directors

4 November 2014

Auckland Council’s proposal to hike the cost of burials will make them unaffordable for many families and force them to cremate relatives against their will, says the Funeral Directors Association of NZ.

“These proposed increases are outrageous.

“Increasing plots by up to $2000 in the name of “harmonising” fees cannot be justified, and will put further pressure on families who are already struggling with the cost of funerals.

“The council is taking advantage of its cemetery monopoly to make money out of families at a time when many are under pressure.

“These increases will make it a lot worse and force some into having relatives cremated because it’s a cheaper option, when their preference is for burial.

“Sometimes that is a cultural preference, so again the council is not taking culture into account.

“In particular, many Maori and Pacific Island families like to bury their loved ones and part of that ritual involves placing soil on the casket. By making burials unaffordable, the council is interfering with that ritual.

“Low-income families in particular will be hit hard.

“Many are already struggling to meet burial costs, and this will put further pressure on funeral directors who do their best to support these people.

“Auckland Council cannot say these increases will not make burials unaffordable, because they will.

“And it cannot hide behind the fact that Work and Income provides funeral grants of up to $1998 to cover burial, plot and cremation charges because that goes nowhere near to covering the cost.

“The council should be aware that the Funeral Directors Association lobbied earlier this year Government for an increase in the WINZ grant so it would know that those grants fall well short for many families.

“This council is again showing it is insensitive to the needs of families, and particularly those who can least afford it. It tried to make huge changes last year to its cemetery and crematoria bylaws that would have disadvantaged a great many people, and it was only after a lot of public pressure that it changed its mind.

“They need to be made to see reason again.”

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