Greater Shepparton City Council transferred $540,000 in cash and $61,000 in land, building and infrastructure assets to Remembrance Parks Central Victoria when it took over the operation of the Pine Lodge and Kialla West cemeteries in the 2021-22 financial year.
Remembrance Parks Central Victoria’s operating statement in its 2021-22 annual report said “the cash received was added to the perpetual maintenance reserve”.
This perpetual maintenance reserve is money set aside for the maintenance of cemeteries after all the plots have been sold and the cemetery closed.
For Remembrance Parks Central Victoria, the reserve is set aside to cover all of the cemeteries it is responsible for, not just the two in the Shepparton area.
The RPCV 2021-22 annual report also states that it has “capped the balance of the perpetual reserve at $1 million”.
It also shows that the perpetual maintenance reserve at June 30, 2022, was sitting at the $1 million cap.
Other annual reports by the organisation show that the $1 million cap was reached in 2020 — before the transfer of the $540,000 from City of Greater Shepparton — and has remained at that amount since.
Ms Lovell has questioned the whereabouts of the cash now, as she said the figures from the 2021-22 annual report show that it was received but not that it was added to the perpetual maintenance reserve.
Ms Lovell said it raised questions over whether RPCV had acquired the two Shepparton cemeteries to use the money elsewhere.
“The (Victorian health) minister must order an immediate audit of RPCV’s finances to establish where the cash from Greater Shepparton has gone and establish a fund isolated for maintenance and improvements at the Pine Lodge and Kialla West cemeteries,” Ms Lovell said.
In a statement, a Remembrance Parks Central Victoria spokesperson said that “all the cash funds transferred from the Shepparton council to RPCV are in our perpetual maintenance fund”.
They said the cash was held in a reserve bank account.
The spokesperson also said in April this year RCPV “lifted the cap on the perpetual maintenance fund that had previously been $1 million”.
Now there is no ceiling or cap on it.
“This was done after much research and reflected in the increase of cemeteries we are responsible for,” the spokesperson said.
The RPCV 2021-22 annual meeting was only held two weeks ago, with the 2022-23 annual report not expected to be released until later this year.
The questions over the money come after a furore in January where ornaments, children’s toys, plants and photos were removed from the graves of loved ones at Pine Lodge cemetery.
