A Formal Complaint: Intimidation by the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board over Peaceful Mother’s Day Gathering at Karrakatta

Emailed on 3 August 2025 to:

• Mr Col Blanch APM, Commissioner of Police
• Ms Sharyn O’Neill PSM, Public Sector Commissioner
• Mr Scott Ellis, Acting Corruption and Crime Commissioner
• Hon Reece Whitby MLA, Minister for Police; Road Safety; Tourism; Great Southern
• Hon Hannah Beazley MLA, Minister for Local Government; Disability Services; Volunteering; Youth; Gascoyne
• Mr Bevan Warner, Ombudsman of Western Australia

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Dear Commissioner Blanch, Commissioner O’Neill, Acting Commissioner Ellis, Minister Whitby, Minister Beazley and Ombudsman Warner,

As representatives of the Saving Family Headstones at Karrakatta group (SFH@K), we are appalled by the actions of the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board (MCB) and the Western Australia Police Force (Police) surrounding Mother’s Day 2025 at Karrakatta Cemetery.

Documents recently obtained under Freedom of Information (FOI) reveal that Ms Kathlene Oliver, Chief Executive Officer of the MCB, prepared a formal “order of exclusion” and contacted the Police seeking “urgent” assistance in case it chose to have grieving families and peaceful volunteers forcibly removed from the cemetery. The order stated that those who did not comply could face arrest and prosecution for trespass and alleged breaches of the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board By-law 1992 (WA) (By-law).

Nothing about our activities was unlawful. The Cemeteries Act 1986 (WA) (Cemeteries Act) and the By-law contain no requirement for prior authorisation for quiet, non-commercial gatherings such as ours — nor do they prohibit members of the public from providing information or support to grieving families on cemetery grounds.

On 14 April 2025, we wrote to the MCB proposing a small, co-branded stall on Mother’s Day. The purpose was to help families find their loved ones’ graves, provide information about the redevelopment program and open the door to respectful conversation between community members and the cemetery’s management.

This was never a protest. We were not selling goods, soliciting donations or disturbing funeral proceedings. We were simply offering kind assistance on public land that belongs to all Western Australians.

As with previous events we held at the cemetery — all of which have occurred without complaint or contact from staff — we wore our matching SFH@K t-shirts as a simple way to identify ourselves. This is entirely appropriate and well within our civic rights to show unity and purpose.

It is important to note that, as recently as late 2024, we were actively engaged in positive dialogue with the MCB. On 18 October 2024, SFH@K representatives met with Ms Oliver at Minister Beazley’s office to discuss collaboration and building a constructive relationship. Following this meeting, the MCB invited us to a further boardroom meeting on 14 November 2024.

These meetings were constructive and resulted in an agreement that quarterly meetings would commence after the March 2025 State Election. There was no suggestion at any time that we had engaged in “misconduct” or posed any operational “risk” to the MCB. Despite us making multiple attempts to schedule the agreed follow-up meetings, Ms Oliver ultimately refused our requests, citing unsubstantiated allegations of uncooperative behaviour in her letter of 1 May 2025.

This breakdown in engagement occurred only after we proposed a peaceful Mother’s Day event.

Shortly thereafter, new signs appeared across the cemetery declaring “no unauthorised activity”. These signs misquoted the By-law and misleadingly suggested that any activity required the MCB’s permission. They even purported to prohibit “unauthorised political causes”, despite no provision in law giving the MCB power to restrict peaceful expression on public land.

On Mother’s Day, when families came to honour their loved ones, SFH@K volunteers — many of us seniors — were met by an unprecedented visible police presence, private security guards and numerous cemetery staff, including Ms Oliver herself. A security officer was stationed beside us throughout the morning, making it clear that we were being surveilled.

While we carried out our activities peacefully and helped families without incident, the FOI documents now show what was happening behind the scenes. The MCB had drafted an “order of exclusion” that could have been served on us at any time. This order threatened immediate removal, police intervention and potential arrest for trespass. The Police were briefed and seemingly prepared to assist the MCB in enforcing this unlawful order.

We are further concerned that the MCB’s correspondence with the Police appears calculated to engineer a bogus paper trail that could later be relied upon to justify enforcement action against us, creating the false impression that the group had already been “warned” or “dealt with” by authorities.

The MCB’s reliance on the By-law to justify these actions was legally untenable and utterly draconian. The clauses it cited have no application to our peaceful presence at Karrakatta:

• Clause 74 — “A person shall not carry on or advertise any trade, business or profession within a Cemetery without the prior written approval of the Board which consent may be granted subject to such conditions as the Board thinks fit.”

SFH@K is neither a “trade, business or profession”, nor is it subject to this clause.

• Clause 77 — “A person shall not obstruct, hinder or disrupt a funeral procession or ceremony within a Cemetery or commit a nuisance disrespectful of the feelings and welfare of other users of a Cemetery.”

SFH@K did neither of these things; therefore, there was no breach.

• Clause 84(1) — “Any person failing to comply with any provision of this By-law or behaving in a manner that in the opinion of the Board or one of its Authorised officers is in appropriate [sic] or unbecoming in a Cemetery may in addition to any penalty provided by this By-law be ordered to leave a Cemetery by the Board or an Authorised Officer.”

Again, we did not breach any By-laws, automatically making the first part of this clause inapplicable.

As for the latter part of clause 84, the “opinion of the Board or one of its Authorised officers” is neither all-encompassing nor unfettered. The Board cannot unilaterally or arbitrarily decide that conduct is “inappropriate or unbecoming” simply because it finds the conduct inconvenient or disagrees with it. Its opinion must have a lawful basis and must be objectively reasonable in the circumstances. If challenged, the MCB would bear the burden of demonstrating to a court that its opinion meets this standard, which it could not do in this case. Neither the Cemeteries Act nor the By-law grants the MCB power to require prior approval for peaceful community gatherings or to be able to suppress lawful assembly. The exclusion order simply had no legal foundation.

Despite this, the Police were asked to stand ready to enforce the order. This was an egregious waste of police resources. Officers were diverted to monitor and potentially remove peaceful volunteers whose only purpose was to assist grieving families. Police powers exist to protect public safety, not to serve as private enforcers for a government agency misusing its authority.

This incident forms part of a wider pattern of behaviour by the MCB. It has repeatedly refused meaningful consultation with families, overseen the removal of thousands of historic headstones under a “renewal” program that has never been properly justified, dismissed complaints and concerns without proper consideration and created an environment where families feel they must seek permission simply to honour their loved ones on public land.

These actions undermine the rule of law and established principles of public administration, including the rights to free movement, peaceful assembly and expression in public spaces. These are rights recognised under Australian common law and supported by international human rights obligations.

In addition to a full and independent investigation into the MCB’s misuse of power and the Police’s involvement, we request:

1. That the Police Commissioner and Minister explain why police resources were placed on standby to enforce an exclusion order with no lawful basis;
2. The immediate removal of misleading and baseless “no unauthorised activity” signage;
3. Formal assurances that families and volunteers will not be threatened or intimidated for peacefully gathering on cemetery grounds in future; and
4. A public apology from the MCB, Police and Ministers to all affected families.

For many years, the MCB has deliberately suppressed information about its redevelopment program, including failing to inform families of its impacts when they lease new graves at Karrakatta. The MCB’s own market research conducted in 2018 found that only 28% of the community was even aware of the program. We had hoped that, through our meetings and dialogue, the MCB was ready to turn a corner and begin dealing frankly and transparently with the public. We thought the Mother’s Day stall could have been a genuine stepping stone toward building a cooperative relationship. Instead, the MCB chose to weaponise what should have been a solemn occasion, turning a day of remembrance into an exercise in intimidation.

Cemeteries are sacred places of memory and history. They belong to the community and to future generations — NOT to government agencies and private corporations seeking to treat them as commercial assets while avoiding public scrutiny. The redevelopment program, the refusal to engage honestly with affected families and the readiness to enlist police powers all point to commercial and political priorities, not legitimate safety concerns. This approach is a shameful waste of public resources, amounts to institutional bullying and breaches the trust owed to grieving families.

We restate our position: SFH@K remains ready to reopen constructive communications the moment the MCB is prepared to engage in good faith. A cemetery authority worthy of public trust would welcome — not suppress — honest dialogue with the very families it is meant to serve.

Please remember this: we will NOT be silenced. We will continue to speak out and hold those in power accountable. Please also note that this letter will be published and shared with the media so that Western Australians can see how public power was misused and understand why it must never happen again.

Further, we will be making a formal referral to the Australian Human Rights Commission for potential breaches of the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Thank you for your time. We look forward to receiving your individual replies.

Please also see the attached documents.

Yours sincerely,

Group Admin Team
Saving Family Headstones at Karrakatta