The NSW Government is proposing to convert Carnarvon Golf Club — a large green space in the heart of Sydney — into a cemetery. If this goes ahead, it sets a dangerous precedent.Today it's Carnarvon Golf Club, tomorrow it could be the park or golf course near you!.

Why This Matters

Carnarvon Golf Club sits in the middle of a densely populated residential area. Converting it to a cemetery will:

• Damage property values for hundreds — potentially thousands — of surrounding homes
• Increase traffic congestion on already-busy local roads
• Permanently remove one of Western Sydney's few remaining accessible green spaces

Many residents have already experienced significant stress and financial anxiety as property values have begun to fall in anticipation of this proposal.

Help us by sharing this with your friends and families and get them to do the same, this is how we'll reach out when we need you https://www.change.org/p/protect-sydney-s-green-spaces-from-being-turned-into-cemeteries

The Proposal Doesn't Even Solve the Problem

The Metropolitan Memorial Park (MMP) has been telling Muslim, Orthodox and Jewish communities that Carnarvon is the answer to their long-term burial needs. It isn't. These communities would receive only a small share of the site's 70,000 spaces — and the site won't even open until at least 2035. At projected demand, it would be full within a decade. Then what? Another park converted?

This is a short-term fix that sacrifices a permanent community asset.

The Site Fails Its Own Guidelines

The proposed site does not meet the NSW Government's own criteria for cemetery development source. Specifically:

• The land was historically fertilised with manure from the Flemington Saleyards — including pig and cow waste source — making it inappropriate for Islamic and Jewish burials 
• The site is flood-prone
• It sits adjacent to a local reservoir
• It borders a major road

These are not minor concerns — they are disqualifying factors under the Government's own guidelines.

Lidcombe Has Already Given Enough

Lidcombe, Berala, Regents Park and Strathfield already host one of Australia's largest cemeteries. With Rookwood Cemetery expanding rapidly next door, this community is being asked to carry a disproportionate and growing burden — in a safe Labor electorate where the Government appears to be taking the path of least resistance rather than doing the hard work of finding genuinely suitable land.

Western Sydney deserves parks, schools, and sporting grounds — not more cemeteries.

Take Action

Email the decision-makers:

• NSW Minister Steve Kamper: office@kamper.minister.nsw.gov.au 
• NSW Premier Chris Minns: office@minns.minister.nsw.gov.au
• CC your local MP Lynda Voltz: auburn@parliament.nsw.gov.au

Sample emails available here 

Join the campaign:

• Digital Campaign team (social media, YouTube, marketing) [WhatsApp link] 
• Community action group (offline efforts):  [WhatsApp link]

   

More information: handsoffcarnarvonandourparks.org

Help us protect the future of Sydney's green spaces!