Tuggeranong Community Council Submission Re: Proposed Cemetery in Long Gully Road

Macarthur.

The Tuggeranong Community Council (TCC) supports plans for a new Southern Cemetery;
however it expresses its reservations to the proposed cemetery on the following grounds;

1. There has been no public discussion of other sites available nor have there been any
reasons given for dismissing other sites as being unsuitable.
2. The TCC is concerned the proposed location for the Southern Cemetery will lead to a
loss of horse exercise areas and impact on an existing wildlife corridor.
3. It has been stated that the southern border of the cemetery will be 300 meters from
homes in the Macarthur district. The TCC considers this to be an insufficient buffer
zone particularly since a crematorium is to be included in the cemetery.
4. It was stated that emission particles from the crematorium are relatively large and
will quickly fall to earth and that the prevailing north-west wind would carry any
emissions away from the built up area.
The TCC doubts the veracity for this statement for two reasons; first, it is
inconceivable that emission fall out would be contained within the boundaries of the
cemetery and therefore must fall upon adjacent homes. Second; the wind will not
be constant from the north-west but will swing in the summer months to the north-
east which would carry emissions and fall out directly over homes in the Macarthur
area.
5. Given the experience of temperature inversion in the Tuggeranong Valley when
wood smoke can be pushed down to the valley floor and on some days does not
disperse. The TCC is not convinced by statements of the Cemetery Authority that
cremations would only be carried out during business hours thus avoiding the
problem of cold upper layers of air holding the emissions down or causing them to
spread laterally. Given the problem of wood smoke, we do not accept that the
crematorium emissions would behave any differently.
6. When the TCC was addressed by Mr Hamish Horne he stated that the Mitchell
crematorium was under utilised by 40%. At the public meeting held at the
Tuggeranong Southern Cross Club on the 25/2/10 it was claimed the Mitchell
crematorium was almost at capacity. What is the true situation?

If there is to be a new cemetery in the south of the A.C.T. the Tuggeranong Community
Council request that other areas that can provide a greater buffer zone between the
crematorium and homes be investigated and reported to the public before any decision is
made.