Opinions sought on City of Joondalup memorials policy

Last year, Annica and Lanre Odina applied to the City to install a memorial plaque in a hut on Iluka Beach in memory of their son Daniel.

It was rejected because the City’s policy, adopted in 2009, stated memorials were only installed for people who had significantly contributed to the local community. Mrs Odina started a petition and last November council voted to allow a temporary plaque and to review the policy.

In June, councillors considered a report on the policy that highlighted several issues, including language used in the policy, a lack of transparent criteria and the need for more information from families and the length of time a temporary memorial can be in place.

“Without amendment, there is a risk that the current policy may continue to provide ambiguous information to the community with regard to the application process requirements,” the report said.

City officers recommended councillors support the proposed policy amendments and advertise it for public comment, as well as seeking feedback from previous applicants.

At the meeting, Cr Liam Gobbert requested an additional amendment to the policy to allow family members to apply for “the installation of a temporary memorial for a deceased person who has resided in the City of Joondalup”.

It was passed unanimously.

Cr Philippa Taylor welcomed the policy review.

“This is an issue I know many people do hold different opinions on so I welcome the move to send this out for public consultation so we can hear from the public at large before we change our policy,” she said.

“I hope it allows the public to voice their opinion about memorials dedicated to people who may not have been persons who have contributed significantly to the local Joondalup community in the traditional sense and then we can see if there is any desire in the community for these memorials to be included in our policy.”

Public consultation closes this Monday.