Legislative Council Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1) 52 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Cemetery Regulations CEMETERY REGULATIONS The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE Legislative Council CEMETERY REGULATIONS The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (14:57): By way of supplementary question, will the minister advise how many times cemetery managers and owners have taken people to court, and how will they police these regulations? The Hon. G.E. GAGO Legislative Council Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for the City of Adelaide CEMETERY REGULATIONS The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (14:57): As I said in my answer, these offences have been rarely enforced in the past. Nevertheless, the upgrading of the regulations was an opportunity, as they had not been changed for some time, to improve them and we did it in extensive consultation with the industry. The Hon. A. Bressington interjecting: The Hon. G.E. GAGO Legislative Council The Hon. G.E. GAGO: It was extensive. The honourable member questions how extensive the consultation was. It is absolutely outrageous. She does not know what she is talking about. She is making comments in this place and she has no idea what she is talking about in terms of the extensive consultation that occurred in regard to these regulations. We even have the LGA supporting these announced changes. The Cemeteries Authority supported these regulations, so it is in line with the views of the industry. That is responsible government. The second question, if I recall, was how these matters would be enforced. It would depend on the arrangements between the cemetery authority and local councils. Different cemeteries have different arrangements in place. I have been advised that an authorised officer would have the powers to initiate an expiation, and cemetery authority people also could be delegated that responsibility, as could local council officers. There are different types of arrangements in place, and it would depend on where that delegated authority lay. It is no different to the current arrangements. These same authorised officers, I have been advised, are those who are responsible for enforcing breaches in the current parking and driving offences in cemeteries. So, I have been advised that there is no difference to the enforcement or the offence except that, instead of them all necessarily having to go off to court and face a fine of $200, they can be expiated, and I said the range of fees is $21 or $50 respectively, for parking and driving offences.