Category: In the News

Funeral costs in the spotlight
A funeral bill is one you never want to pay, but there's a push to make the whole ordeal cheaper and better.
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'Changing paperwork is not going to fix funeral debt': Association slams call to remove funeral directors as cremation middlemen
Funeral Directors Association chief executive Gillian Boyes said reducing the amount of paper work is not going to fix funeral debt for families.
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Life changes - and death changes, too
With New Zealand's first water crematorium opening for business today, President of the Funeral Directors Association Andrew Malcolm joins Emile Donovan to discuss how our attitudes to going out in style are changing.
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Eco-friendly deaths - how to have less of a final carbon footprint
Water cremation is now available in Christchurch from this week at Bell Lamb and Trotter funeral directors.
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How the cost of living is increasing the cost of dying
From the wages to the casket to the embalming fluid, Funeral Directors Association chief executive Gillian Boyes said every element of a funeral had gone up.
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The secrets, shame, and stories that led to unmarked graves
More than a century after Frank Renall reportedly beat John Henderson to death with his fists and a chair, both men lie in unmarked graves near the asylum where it happened.
More than 1700 other patients lie there in the same way: unacknowledged, unclaimed, and publicly unnamed.
Now though, that’s set to change.
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Water cremation a New Zealand first
In what is being called a significant change for the funeral industry, New Zealand’s first water cremation service is being offered in Christchurch from next month.
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Pacific families are vulnerable under current funeral rules, says industry leader
The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand (FDANZ) is calling for more transparent standards for pricing and standards after further details of a former funeral director's misconduct were revealed.
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Angel Casts helps bereaved mum replace baby son’s headstone
Well done to member firm, Pellow & Hill for their compassion and generosity in stepping up to fully support a grieving family when it mattered most.
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