House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1) 52 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Bills Local Government (Interment of Human Remains) Amendment Bill LOCAL GOVERNMENT (INTERMENT OF HUMAN REMAINS) AMENDMENT BILL Introduction and First Reading Introduction and First Reading The Hon. I.F. EVANS House of Assembly Davenport The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (10:37): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Local Government Act 1934. Read a first time. Second Reading Second Reading The Hon. I.F. EVANS House of Assembly Davenport The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (10:37): I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Again, I will not delay the house long. This matter was also raised with me by the Australian Funeral Directors Association. This issue deals with the interment of human remains under the Local Government Act, so the bill is called the Local Government (Interment of Human Remains) Amendment Bill 2010. This bill also is very simple in its intent. The Australian Funeral Directors Association, again, has been in negotiations with the government since April 2008, I understand, regarding this matter. The Australian Funeral Directors Association advice to me is that, when someone is cremated, a process is set out in the regulations attached to the current act. It requires a notice of identification to travel with the deceased so that, when the person is cremated, there is a guarantee of the identity of the person, and the reason for that requirement is obvious: it is hard to prove that the wrong person was cremated. However, the Australian Funeral Directors Association has raised with me that, when someone is buried, there is not the same requirement for a certificate of identification to travel with the deceased, and the Funeral Directors Association is concerned that there is a loophole that allows for error, being that the wrong person is buried in the wrong grave. The problem of course with that, apart from the great distress to the family concerned, is that the only way one can correct that or prove that is to exhume the body, which, of course, is a terrible experience for grieving families and they should not have to go through that. The Australian Funeral Directors Association, which is the expert in this matter—I declare to this house that I am not an expert in funeral matters, although my brother does own two hearses—says to me that it is concerned, as an industry, that it is exposed to this loophole and grieving families are exposed to this loophole. This bill simply brings in to the Local Government Act provisions for a similar procedure for burials as is currently the case for cremations and therefore we give more certainty to the grieving families and more certainty to the Funeral Directors Association that the correct body has been buried. The Hon. R.B. Such interjecting: The Hon. I.F. EVANS House of Assembly The Hon. I.F. EVANS: The member for Fisher reminds me that the previous select committee of the house reported on this matter and confirmed this matter so it is not something that is new to the house. Why it has taken this long then to deal with it is perhaps a mystery to us all. With those simple words, again, I hope the government can see its way clear to support this bill. I think it is a simple bill. I think it is a good measure and I think it will be a positive thing for grieving families if this loophole is closed as quickly as possible. With those few words, I look forward to the future support of the house. Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Sibbons.