Residents across Brisbane are outraged over the lack of maintenance at cemeteries including Pinnaroo in Albany Creek, Lutwyche, Balmoral and Toowong.
It’s been revealed Brisbane City Council has cut $1.5million from the cemetery budget and have no clear maintenance schedule for weed management or moving at the sites.
At many graves, the grass is so long on top they need to weed kill and mow, increasing Council’s costs further.
Local residents have written to Council, detailing their distress when visiting family members graves and seeing them overgrown or, in some cases, damaged.
Deputy Leader of the Council Opposition, Cr Lucy Collier said she’s calling on the Lord Mayor and his Council to enforce a regular schedule of maintenance.
Friends of Lutwyche Cemetery have also been advocating on the issue, taking to Facebook to share their thoughts.
“We at Friends of Lutwyche Cemetery have also been in discussion with BCC Cemetery Management about the deteriorating level of maintenance we have witnessed over the past 12 to 18 months.
“We will be raising our concerns again with our local councillor Councillor Danita Parry in the hope that not only the frequency of maintenance can be improved but also the quality of maintenance.”
Meanwhile at the Balmoral Cemetery, branches from trees have fallen but not been collected. Community members have made numerous complaints to Council but fail to get a response or are told it will be mowed in due course.
Concerns are shared across Brisbane, many saying they can’t even access the graves of loved ones or find it disrespectful to pioneers, Veterans and Government officials buried there.
