Burial Restrictions Cause Unnecessary Suffering
Western Victoria MP Bev McArthur has used a Consistency Question in Parliament this week to call upon the Minister for Health to increase the limit on mourners permitted at outdoor burials.
Stage three and four restrictions currently restrict the number of mourners allowed at funerals to ten in Victoria.
Mrs McArthur said she had received correspondence from Maria Cameron, Chair of the Port Fairy Cemetery Trust who drew her attention to "the totally unnecessary additional grief being inflicted by these restrictions, particularity at outdoor burials".
“When one considers the limit of ten includes funeral staff, which can often be three or more people, it seems even more tragic”.
“Common sense and most importantly, medical evidence tells us, the risk of viral transmission is significantly diminished outdoors. It seems that an outdoor burial in a Local Government Area with zero active cases, poses an infinitesimal risk to public health whilst inflicting enormous undue distress".
“Imagine being the eleventh person wanting to say a final goodbye to a loved one and receiving a $1600 fine for doing so.”
Mrs McArthur said she “understood measures that restrict the number of mourners at funerals in enclosed environments or in areas with active cases may have merit”.
However, “Victorians are much less likely to support any lock down measure if some measures seem arbitrary and capricious.”
Mrs MacArthur also highlighted the lack of reliable broadband in regional Victoria which prevents a virtual service from taking place, saying that “a virtual service isn’t feasible in towns like Port Fairy due to a lack of relevant technology and a reliable internet connection”.
“At a time when the relationship between the State Government and Victorians is so vital, this lack of proportionality has the effect of eroding public trust and broader support for other measures required to conquer this virus”.
2 September 2020