1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,600 Speaker 1: Here's a story we should have done on Friday when 2 00:00:01,639 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: it was Halloween. Apparently we're running out of room to 3 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:09,480 Speaker 1: bury the dead. The New Zealand Cemeteries and Crematoria Collective 4 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: says Auckland and other regions are nearly a capacity, urging 5 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: councils to snap up land and they plan strategically for 6 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: local semmetry spaces. So Daniel Crisp is the chair of 7 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 1: the New Zealand Cemeteries and Crematoria Collective and joins me, Now, 8 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: good morning to. 9 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 2: You, Daniel, Good morning Andrew. How are you? 10 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,600 Speaker 1: I'm good. Just how close are we to being full? 11 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 2: Well, like you say, there are a few regions which 12 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 2: are nearly there. Unfortunately, so maybe five years or less 13 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 2: or less left of space, so you know that's not ideal. 14 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 2: You know, we're trying to urge councils to plan proactively. 15 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 2: When they've got about ten years left, they should be 16 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 2: starting to consider it because it takes quite a while 17 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 2: to quietly. 18 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, how did they do it? How do you make 19 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: a cemetery? 20 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 2: Yes, that's the Public Works Act, which we know is 21 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 2: getting a few tweaks at the moment, so hopefully that 22 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 2: might help a little bit as well. But yeah, it's 23 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 2: a public works Act. Under the Burial Cremation Act, all 24 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 2: councils are required to provide burial space, so there's a 25 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 2: couple of legislative ways to do it. And then yeah, 26 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 2: it's got to go through that process, which can take 27 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 2: several years. 28 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: And New Zealand is still preferring to be buried rather 29 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: than cremated. 30 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 2: Various from city to city based on demographics. Generally speaking, 31 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 2: New Zealanders around to seventy five percent cremation now, but 32 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,759 Speaker 2: there are still a lot of communities and cultures which 33 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 2: still prefer burial, which is fine. You know, I don't 34 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 2: think we're ever going to get to the point where 35 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 2: we're going to star outlawing burial. That would just be ridiculous. 36 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 2: So we need to provide these options. So councils need 37 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 2: to think strategically and proactively about this thing. 38 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: All right. And this is a bit dark as well. 39 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: If you've ever been to Paris, of course you go 40 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: to the catacombs and that's quite remarkable, and that is 41 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: basically everybody from a cemetery who were then stored in 42 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 1: a mine. So they have more room for the city 43 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: and for more cemetery and for more people. So will 44 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: we ever get to that state where we might actually 45 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: disinter people and put them elsewhere to make more space. 46 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, there's a lot of other countries do that, 47 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,639 Speaker 2: and so it's a thing called limited tenure plots. It 48 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,399 Speaker 2: is something we're trying to start the conversation on. It's 49 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 2: very foreign to New Zealanders. We're pretty used to having 50 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:27,239 Speaker 2: our plot forever. But clearly that's not going to be 51 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 2: an option forever to just keep something plots forever. We 52 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:32,360 Speaker 2: need to look at these other options as well. 53 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: So, yeah, exactly, your call is we need more symmetries 54 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: and we should have started thinking about it five years ago. 55 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, a lot of the councils that are in 56 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 2: this predicament right now, it's not their fault. It's the 57 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 2: fault of senior management or chief executives or councils five 58 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 2: to ten years ago. And now they're stuck with the 59 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,640 Speaker 2: really crappy situation of running out of space. So I 60 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 2: do feel for them. It is a complex thing to 61 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 2: try and find land. But yeah, we're urging councils to 62 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 2: pur now so in another five or ten years time, 63 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:03,519 Speaker 2: they're not in a similar situation. 64 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: Hey Daniel, thank you so much for your time. That's 65 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,360 Speaker 1: Daniel Crisp, who is the chair of the New Zealand 66 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:10,079 Speaker 1: Cemetery's and Crematoria Collective. 67 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 2: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live 68 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 2: to News Talks at B from five am weekdays, or 69 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:18,959 Speaker 2: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.