Natural burial, Canberra style

Shane Rattenbury and Hamish Horne, CEO Canberra Cemeteries, at the natural burial site in Gungahlin Cemetery. 

There are no headstones, bodies can be placed directly in the earth or in a biodegradable casket and people are buried with radio frequency identification devices to map their location: welcome to natural burial, Canberra style.

From today (Tuesday), Canberrans can opt for a more environmentally-friendly burial at a new natural burial site opened at Gungahlin Cemetery or chose natural burial at another Canberran Cemetery.

ACT Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Shane Rattenbury said a number of individuals and groups in Canberra had contacted him about the possibility of a natural burial and he was pleased this was now a reality.

“A natural burial is the act of returning a body as naturally as possible to the earth. All material involved with the burial, including the shroud or casket, is biodegradable,” Mr Rattenbury said.

“This is not only more environmentally friendly than a traditional burial or cremation, but is also more culturally appropriate for many Canberrans.”

The Natural Burial Association recommends that bodies are not embalmed or cremated but buried in a simple casket or shroud. Coffins must be made from natural untreated timber, excluding nails and screws.

It is not just the casket that should be biodegradable. The deceased must be dressed in clothes which come from sustainable sources which will biodegrade.

The new natural burial site Gungahlin Cemetery is one hectare of bushland set amongst brittle gums and yellow box eucalyptus.

Large rocks at the site’s entrance serve as a communal memorial, rather than headstones. Families can put small plaques dedicated to their loved ones at the entrance and leave tokens such as flowers.

“No permanent visual markers or plaques will be placed inside the natural burial site with its design to remain blended with the surrounding bushland,” Mr Rattenbury said. “A suitable tree or shrub can be planted at the site if the family wishes.”

The ACT Public Cemeteries Authority has strict rules about what can be left on a grave. Fresh flowers can be left at the time of burial but they will be removed after two weeks. Families can leave fresh flowers and other tokens at the communal memorial, provided the wrappings and ribbons around flowers are biodegradable.

Natural burial also has a helping hand from the latest technology.

To keep track of who is buried where, people will be buried with a radio frequency identification device and their grave recorded on the Canberra Cemetery digital mapping system.

“Individuals will be buried with a small RFID device so that their site can be definitively located by cemetery management,” Mr Rattenbury said.

“For those who wish to be cremated and still be within the natural burial site, cremated remains will be placed inside bio-degradable containers or placed directly into the earth.”

A map from the Canberra Cemeteries office will enable people to visit the actual site of a loved one’s burial. However, the location of cremated remains will not be mapped.
You can find out more on natural burials here.

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Turnbull & Fletcher schmooze local councils

Paul Fletcher helping out Trent Zimmerman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australia’s 565 local governments copped a serious belting in the last federal Budget (and a serious loss of portfolio relevance in Canberra) under jettisoned PM Tony Abbott, but now successor Malcolm Turnbull and his Minister for Major Projects, Territories and Local Government Paul Fletcher are moving fast to repair some of the major damage.

In a deliberate overture to help heal the yawning rift opened by the previous federal Coalition leadership, Paul Fletcher late last week quietly told the nation’s Mayors they were firmly back on the federal policy agenda. After a cold and lonely stint on the sidelines, winter is over.

“This is the first time for some years that there has been a Minister whose title includes specific reference to local government,” Fletcher pointedly observed in a blog on his website.

“There are at least three important reasons why the Turnbull Government has chosen to underline the importance of local government in this way.”

Like most government lists, the real deal usually sits somewhere towards the end.

Fletcher’s third ‘reason’ says this:

“As Prime Minister Turnbull has made clear, he sees a renewed role for the Commonwealth in working to support and plan for the growth of our cities – which collectively in 2011 contributed $854 billion to our national economy according to the Infrastructure Australia audit issued earlier this year.”

Look at full name of many councils, and you’ll see the name “City of …” in front of many of them; and not just state capitals.

Parramatta City Council has more than 170,000 people living in it, a bit under half of Canberra’s population of 380,000. The City of the Gold Coast has close to 500,000.

Get your local government policy right and there are large numbers of people pleased. Get it wrong and the electoral consequences can be pivotal.

The big problem many populous local governments have these days though is that the highly polarised nature of Australia’s political system can find councils pointlessly punished for accidently falling on the wrong side of the partisan fence –especially when it’s highly localised rather than ideological issues that decide results.

Who fixed a bridge, upgraded broadband or mobile phone reception, fixed a parking problem or got a movie to film in a town. Politicians might want to ‘own’ solutions but they are more often than not based on pragmatism than ideology.

The bone-headed, semi-fanatical opposition of NSW Labor to the renewal of light rail infrastructure in Sydney stands as a case in point.

Sadly, the example sits cheek-by-jowl with the Abbott government’s vindictively punitive treatment of the renewable energy sector.

Stuff the utility, give the other side nothing . . . their gain is our loss so bugger the opportunity cost.

Transport renewal and energy efficiency offer councils a real prospect of improving their communities and saving money at the local level. That opportunity has since been seized with both hands by a far more pragmatic and progressive Baird government that is laser focused on demonstrable results rather than dogma.

Fletcher and Turnbull now have a golden opportunity to positively reset relations between councils and Canberra by backing the kinds of grass roots projects that can make a difference and deliver to local communities in smart and innovative ways that eschew community damaging pettiness — and potentially take state government or three along for the ride.

“When Australians engage with government, nothing annoys them more than buck-passing and finger pointing between different governments,” Fletcher notes.

“Of course it is true that different levels of government have different responsibilities – but all of us have a responsibility to work together to deliver the best possible outcomes for citizens and residents.”

Fletcher’s first major overture to councils obligatorily calls out Roads to Recovery as a cornerstone agenda item, but the real test will be how broadminded the Commonwealth can be when considering projects that offer savings to local communities yet don’t immediately tick stodgy procurement guidelines or fire up the daily news cycle.

There is also a case for overcoming a paralysing fear that credit for good deeds could be claimed by immediate opponents, or worse still Greens and Independents.

Take for example the hysterical campaign run against LED street lighting by some sections of the electricity sector that stood to lose handsome ratepayer revenue in the event councils found a much cheaper way to light up.

Or the Quixotesque war on wind power replete with its own Commissioner.

Energy costs are not everything, but overseas examples that demonstrate savings in emissions and power consumption that come from innovations such as tapping methane from landfill, biomass and water treatment could make a real difference to rates bills, or at least infrastructure maintenance.

In the US there are sewage plants that generate and sell electricity.

Should Canberra be able to become an enabling catalyst for new ideas and innovation, there could be a decent payoff for the initial capital outlay – both financial and political.

As the coal lobby likes to point out, affordable energy fosters economic growth; even if some producers don’t like competition from less capital and carbon intensive methods of production.

“A wide range of critical functions, such as planning, waste disposal and infrastructure provision (including roads and footpaths, parks and sporting grounds, and in many areas sewerage, water and even power) are delivered by local government,” Fletcher observes.

“If it were not for local government, many of the services that Australians take for granted simply would not be there.”

Improving those services without getting hung-up on labels could go a very long way and Paul Fletcher understands the nature of networks better than most, including how to optimise their performance.

Just don’t mention council mergers.

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Aspen's genius inventor, 96

Inventor Klaus Obermeyer introduced the first plastic ski boot, the first down parkas, mirrored sunglasses and the turtleneck. At 96, he still carves down the slopes of Aspen.











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Neymar included on Ballon d'Or shortlist

Real Madrid have been second best to Barcelona this season and the Spanish champions scored another minor victory over their rivals Monday as the FIFA Ballon d'Or shortlist was announced











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How an animal saved this woman's life

As a dancer, Shelly Mays loved being the center of attention. When serious health problems took that away from her, she was distraught -- but bonding with horses has helped her heal.











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NZ bids farewell to Lomu with emotional haka

A host of former All Blacks performed an emotional haka in front of thousands of mourners at a public memorial to mark the passing of New Zealand rugby union great Jonah Lomu.











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NBA great Bryant to retire at end of season

"My body knows it's time to say goodbye" wrote five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant as he poetically announced his intention to retire at the end of the season.











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NSW cuts real estate agents out of rental bonds market

 

The days of real estate agents sitting on fat cash deposits from tenants for residential rental properties look numbered after the New South Wales state government moved to let renters deposit their bonds directly and online with NSW of Fair Trading.

It’s an eviction of sorts that’s been a long time coming.

The stand by the state government finally lets renters bypass the frequently loathed scenario of handing over what can often amount to amounts to tens of thousands of dollars in surety to agents and landlords who then often string out the deposit and return of trust funds for their own financial benefit.

Dubbed ‘Rental Bonds Online’, the new facility from Fair Trading lets tenants voluntarily opt out of the archaic system that produced 540,000 paper-based lodgements a year in favour of transferring monies directly into a government-held trust account via BPAY or MasterCard and Visa cards.

“We are doing away with this cumbersome process by cutting out the middle man and enabling tenants to lodge their bond directly to NSW Fair Trading through an electronic transfer system,” Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation Victor Dominello said.

People may not always trust the government; but they trust it more than the real estate industry.

A major problem for residential tenants across Australia is that many unscrupulous agents and landlords often sit on bond money for as long as they legally can – sometimes longer – to skim off interest or temporarily reduce their own interest payments.

Now the state government is helping to remove financial temptation for investment property owners, with Mr Dominello hailing NSW’s online bond facility as the only scheme in Australia where tenant bond money is deposited directly to the government.

“The new scheme provides tenants with greater confidence that their bond money is securely held in trust, from the moment the payment leaves their account,” Mr Dominello said.

The state government is also keeping crucial transactional data from bond deposits and releases, a move it says will allow tenants “to record and save their bond history online, which they can opt to use to support future tenancy applications.”

That data could potentially challenge the notorious market in residential tenancy databases that have historically created headaches for renters and regulators alike because of their questionable accuracy and exorbitant fee structures that can gouge more than $5 per minute for phone enquiries.

The NSW Government is initially selling the online bond facility to the property industry and landlords as a carrot rather than a stick, pointing to the success of a pilot that started in July.

According to Mr Dominello, around 2,000 real estate agencies and private landlords have signed-up to the new service with more than 7,000 active accounts set up and more than $5 million in bond money lodged.

But behind the positive message are conspicuous examples of what’s known as ‘trust fraud’ where money simply disappears.

One of the worst recent examples of real estate trust fraud hit NSW courts in September after an Illawarra agent pleaded guilty to two charges of fraudulently converting money as a licensee, relating to money taken from the company’s rent trust account and sales trust account.

The sting to the agent’s clients was a hefty $789,000, with Fair Trading uncovering “numerous deficiencies” in the real estate agents’ rent and sales trust accounts in addition to “falsified corporate book keeping records created to disguise and hide the fraud.”

“Investigators also established the defendant had engaged in a type of ‘kite flying’ – manipulating the monthly rental trust account reconciliation by drawing cheques for the payment of fictitious disbursements at the end of each calendar month in order to give the false appearance the account was balanced – to cover up for her unauthorised withdrawals,” a statement from NSW Fair Trading at the time said.

The case prompted Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe to warn the consumer protection agency would “continue to crack down on real estate agents who commit serious fraud such as trust account misappropriation.”

Mr Dominello may yet not give them the chance.

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Striking public servants will harness “civic crowdfunding” says CPSU

 

Even more disruptive strikes across key frontline areas of the Australian Public Service are firmly on the cards – and just in time for Christmas.

The Community and Public Sector Union has revealed it is moving into urgent fundraising mode to financially support members who are stood down or lose pay while taking protected industrial action.

The move to raise funds as a buffer to support CPSU members who lose pay during disputes is a strong signal that there is plenty more trouble ahead.

It’s also an unambiguous message to the Turnbull government that strong responses such as those from Border Force which sharply ratchet-up financial pressure on public servants who are contemplating or taking part in legally authorised industrial action will not go unchecked.

The union’s call for cash follows the recent move by Border Force’s management to use the upper-end of pay related sanctions to respond to partial work bans –a response has widely been interpreted as a test of resolve and staying power of CPSU members during the protracted APS-wide bargaining dispute.

According to a CPSU bulletin to members, the fund raising tactic “is believed to be the first time a union in Australia has used civic crowdfunding techniques to fund strike pay.”

While the online donation facility might be new, unions in the UK have for decades with great success used so-call ‘bucket’ appeals – where members or supporters conspicuously collect public donations in high traffic locations – to compensate for lost wages.

“The Campaign Fund announcement comes as more than 500 CPSU members in the Department of Immigration and Border Protection prepare for another round of work bans from Monday 7 December targeting cargo and freight areas including ports, air freight terminals and international mail centres,” the CPSU said in a statement to members.

“This action is expected to impact on goods entering the country including parcels, mail and cargo. When workers applied similar bans in October many were stood down by the Department without pay for up to five days.”

The ongoing industrial action by Immigration and Border Protection staff is a potent symbol for the CPSU in its long-running dispute because it counterbalances previous attempts by the Abbott government to portray public servants as lazy, change resistant bureaucrats protecting their cushy, well paid jobs.

The union’s trump card to date has been that staff at Border Force could lose as much as $8000 a year in take home pay under changes proposed in the new enterprise agreement. That position is a far cry from unions pushing for an unsustainable pay rise.

“The people who protect our borders and provide critical public services are heading into Christmas with the threat of deep cuts to their rights and conditions hanging over them, while many in Border Force still face getting thousands of dollars slashed from their take-home pay,” CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood said.

“Our Immigration and Border Force members in particular have been in a lose-lose financial situation caused by Government. They have been foregoing pay to go on strike or be stood down as they fight the Government’s continued attempts to cut the take-home pay for many by thousands of dollars a year, while all face losing rights and conditions.”

Ms Flood also accused Public Service Minister Michaelia Cash and Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd of refusing to budge on workplace conditions, saying that after returning to the bargaining table “we have confirmed that not much has changed.”

The latest pressure tactics aimed at the government follow the demotion by new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of right-faction aligned Public Service and Employment Minister Senator Eric Abetz.

Senator Abetz’s demotion was bookended last week by more house cleaning in the form of the resignation of the head of the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet, Michael Thawley, who appears likely to be replaced by former Treasury chief Martin Parkinson.

Although the Turnbull government is highly unlikely to buckle to CPSU pressure, it is still actively seeking to reset the relations with the bureaucracy, with a re-examination of workplace productivity centred around innovation rather than labour costs expected in December.

A common theme privately raised by some senior public servants is that there are plenty of opportunities to reduce spending in non-productive areas such as duplicated or incompatible back office systems that require a small army of contractors and consultants to maintain.

A Fairfax Media analysis over the weekend claims consulting and contracting costs across 18 major federal agencies have soared by a massive $205 million to eclipse wage bill savings of just $109 million, with costs associated with replacing the Department of Human Services’ legacy core payments platform soaking-up around $100 million.

Abnormal items at Human Services aside, there are again renewed warnings over the potential to repeat the disastrous mass public sector outsourcing exercise of the 1990s that cast decades of corporate memory overboard and produced ongoing cost blowouts and declining service levels.

The Assistant National Secretary of the CPSU, Michael Tull wasted no time in pouncing on the figures as fresh evidence that reliance on the so-called ‘Coalition-of-the-Billing’ to make up for big permanent job cuts was a false economy.

“Arbitrary budget cuts force Departments to use contractors and consultants to replace workers who should not have been made redundant in the first place,” Mr Tull said.

“The Government’s growing addiction to multinational consulting firms also raises questions about how much influence big corporate interests are getting over policy development. A properly funded public sector provides impartial advice that is absolutely in the public’s interest.”

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Shiffrin stuns slalom with huge weekend wins

The margins of her two World Cup victores in Aspen were so big, Mikaela Shiffrin barely knew what to say.











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