Cemeteries boss Lee Shearer found out she was sacked via 2GB call

The NSW cemetery manager says she only found out she had been fired when she was approached Tuesday morning to appear on the radio.

OneCrown trustee Lee Shearer, who oversaw more than 404 hectares of crown land, will be replaced by Property Council of Australia boss Ken Morrison.

Announced at about 6pm on Tuesday by NSW Land and Property Minister Steve Kamper, Mr Morrison will inherit the new role of administrator of Metropolitan Cemeteries and Crematoria (MCC).

The management reshuffle comes after an audit of OneCrown’s five cemeteries in Sydney found that multiple Sydney religious groups would be without a cemetery in less than three years.

Ms Shearer said she was unaware her position had been replaced until she was asked by Ben Fordham’s team to appear on 2GB.

Fordham also said he was unaware that Ms. Shearer had not been told before contacting her for the segment.

“I found out this morning,” she said.

“Just to hear from you that I’ll be done on Friday, I haven’t had time to talk to my staff, whom I’ve managed as an administrator for the past two years.”

She said the decision was “pretty undignified.”

“I really don’t know if this bodes well for a government with integrity and commitment to people,” she said.

“I had no idea anyone else had been appointed. I found out this morning that I haven’t had any calls, from anyone, not even the recruitment agency, anyone,” Ms Shearer said.

“What I’m disappointed about is that people have often described me as the glue that held these places together for two years.”

Ms Shearer described the shocking news as ‘quite challenging’.

“I’ve achieved incredible results and held together this sector from the previous administration in making decisions only to be told through you (Ben Fordham) that I’ve been replaced,” she said.

It is understood that Ms. Shearer’s term would always end on Friday, and Mr. Kamper called her Tuesday morning and thanked her for her work as OneCrown administrator.

Ms Shearer said she was unaware her position had been replaced until she was asked by Ben Fordham’s team to appear on 2GB

“She has guided OneCrown through difficult times of indecision and has been a fierce advocate for action and a champion for OneCrown’s frontline employees who are doing an incredible job,” he said in a statement.

“We said we would undertake a transparent process to appoint an administrator once the current term is up. Today we delivered.

“We have committed to the model. We have committed to our team. We now look forward to getting down to business and working together to fix the mess left behind by the former government.”

Mr. Kamper appeared on 2GB on Tuesday to apologize for the blunder.

“I absolutely apologized, I was going to call her today, but the press release went out early,” he said.

“The release was meant to go out after I talked to Lee, and it was just a shame it happened this way.

Under Mr Morrison’s leadership, the MCC has been tasked with addressing land shortages and ensuring that funeral and cremation services remain accessible and affordable for NSW residents.

The government’s audit found that the religions most affected included people of the Islamic and Armenian, Eastern and Antioch Orthodox faiths, where internment is considered the only accepted practice.