Mainpaper News Story:
MidCoast Council's program of "laying down" a number of monuments was prompted by the death of a three-year-old girl who was crushed by a sandstone Anzac memorial at the Black Head Bowling Club in 2016.
But when Catherine Potts and her sister went to put flowers on their parents' graves at Bight Cemetery Wingham, they were shocked to find their father's headstone lying on the ground.
"We were devastated," Mrs Potts said.
"At first we thought it was vandals until we entered through the gate and realised that this was the work of council.
"This seems like occupational health and safety gone mad."
Respect versus public health:
The council's program has been suspended and is now under review because of the distress it has caused relatives visiting the cemetery.
MidCoast Council will now consult with its heritage advisors and reassess the program
The council's director of community spaces and services, Paul De Szell, ensures public safety remains a key concern for the council.
"It's trying to find the balance between being respectful and also ensuring people in our cemeteries aren't at risk of injury," he said.
The decision has been welcomed by Mrs Potts, but she wants the council held responsible for the damage.
"I think they also have some obligation to rectify some of the heavy-handed process that's taken place," she said.
Relatives' responsibility:
Cemeteries are a public space owned and maintained by local councils but headstones and graves are owned by individuals and families.
Mr De Szell said this makes it difficult for council to ensure headstones are kept in a good state of repair, especially when family members do not live nearby.
"Obviously many family members don't attend cemeteries on a frequent basis, so some of them wouldn't even know their tombstones or the monuments had become unstable," Mr De Szell said.
"We have to consider in the back of our mind the safety of the public when they are in and around our cemeteries."
Josh Crowther from Stacks Law firm said it is a difficult situation.
"Ultimately it would, in practice, come down to the family to uphold any ongoing maintenance issues," he said.
But he said issues could arise if the headstone is not properly erected or if the council has negligently impacted on the headstone.
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