The New South Wales auditor-general has put the Minns government on notice that one of the state’s largest cemetery operators, the Catholic Metropolitan Cemetery Trust (CMCT), has still refused to open its books for inspection, despite Treasury confirmation it is a state-controlled entity. This is an unprecedented situation that could yet come back to haunt the new government.
In an unprecedented special report into the financial affairs of the Catholic Metropolitan Cemetery Trust issued Tuesday, state auditor-general Margaret Crawford said that her office “has not been provided [with] access to the management, books and records of the entity, nor been provided with information, explanation or assistance for the purposes of my performance audit” warning the situation was unacceptable.
“This situation has not been encountered previously and should not be seen, nor accepted as appropriate,” Crawford said, essentially sheeting the issue back to the minister responsible, minister for lands and property Steve Kamper to deal with, with the treasurer and heads of Treasury and Department of Planning and Environment copied in.
While the Catholic Church operates the cemeteries, including the huge Rookwood Necropolis in Sydney’s west, the burial grounds are crown land and regarded as an essential service.
The previous government had been trying to bring four of Sydney’s cemetery trusts into a single entity known as OneCrown, but the move was heavily resisted by CTMT, setting up a showdown with the auditor.
It has been reported that the Minns government has essentially conceded the lack of cooperation from CMCT for vending into OneCrown will mean a two-operator model will be needed, with the Catholic operators having argued they should not be merged with loss-making entities when they are not (yet) losing money, alongside other possible tax exposures.
However, the compromise is a fraught one because it essentially leaves the state taxpayers to pick up the tab for loss-making cemeteries while the church continues to operate ostensibly solvent ones, though the auditor makes it clear there has been insufficient access to even confirm this.
An obvious question is why the level of resistance to an audit is clearly so high when advice from Treasury was plain and unambiguous, even if contested.
Crawford has also made it plain that she does not accept the auditor’s statutory functions just being waved away, especially when tasked with running the ruler over a government-controlled entity.
“As I have not had access to CMCT’s books and records relevant to the conduct of my audit, this means I am unable to conduct a performance audit in order to conclude on the financial affairs of the CMCT, as requested under section 27B(3)(c) of the GSA Act,” Crawford wrote.
“Again, I restate, being denied access to management, and to proper books and records for the purpose of conducting statutorily required financial and performance audits should not be normalised, nor considered appropriate. It significantly impairs transparency and accountability and raises questions about the stewardship of resources.”
According to the comprehensive statement of income in CMCT’s 2022 Annual Report, CMCT recorded a gross profit of $19.4 million for that year but a negative total comprehensive income for the period of 2.42 million.
The political decision to let the Catholic Church hang onto its cemetery asset in NSW stands in stark contrast to the all-out open warfare in the neighbouring Australian Capital Territory.
In Canberra, the Barr Labor government has rammed through special enabling legislation to allow it to seize back Calvary Hospital from the Little Company of Mary so it could redevelop the site and operator for the city’s two major public hospitals.
That battle has drawn in both Tony Abbott and Peter Dutton to support the church.
The CMCT has backed in the Archdiocese of Sydney and the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulbourn in their so-far unsuccessful push to reverse the ACT government’s decision, pushing a petition and links to resources opposing the takeover.
The CMCT has been contacted for comment.
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ACT nationalises Canberra’s second hospital as Barr removes Catholic operator
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