Indigenous leaders from around NSW visited Narooma earlier this month to see if they can replicate the affordable funerals being offered by a local company.
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Narooma-based Aboriginal funeral company director Wally Stewart who founded Dreamtime Funerals has worked to lower the cost of funerals for indigenous families in the local area and how he hopes others will do something elsewhere in the state.
He has been able to offer the discount rates by working with fellow funeral director Russell Howarth, who has moved his companies Afterlife Funerals and also Funeral Transfers Australia to the Narooma industrial estate.
Mr Stewart has lobbied the NSW Aboriginal Land Council organisation to have one company offering affordable funerals to all indigenous residents in the state, similar to the successful system operating in Victoria.
Earlier this month, the chairman of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council Roy Ahsee attended the Narooma funeral home to learn more, as did Far South Coast Aboriginal Lands Council councillor Danny Chapman.
Also attending were the new chief executive officer of Katungul Aboriginal Corporation Community and Medical Service, Rob Skeen, as well as Allan Carriage from Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation medical services in Campbelltown.
Kempsey community member John Wright travelled down as he was concerned for his people and the amounts being charged for funerals.
Having designated Aboriginal burial grounds could save families $3000 or more per burial, Mr Stewart said, with a full service funeral costing as much as $10,000. The services he and Mr Howarth offered were all about being low-cost and culturally appropriate.
Mr Stewart said the NSWALC have a funeral fund and they are paying out over $700,000 a year to mainstream funeral services for Aboriginal peoples’ funerals. “That money gets soaked up in service fees etc, and it could be better spent more effectively by working with Dreamtime Funerals to service the Aboriginal people of NSW.”
“The money is being paid out in good faith but its not reaching the people,” he said. “But if they engage us, we could cut those costs in half.”
He would like to see the NSW and local Aboriginal land councils set up a pilot project together with indigenous medical services were affordable funerals could be offered.
Mr Stewart meanwhile has also had discussions with local Aboriginal land councils and shire councils to see if either new Aboriginal burial grounds can be opened or areas set aside within existing cemeteries specifically for indigenous people.