Fraser Coast council votes down ‘prayer’ change at meeting

A failed attempt to broaden the scope and inclusivity of “prayers” that mark the start of Fraser Coast council meetings could leave the local government body vulnerable to accusations of discrimination.

Agnostic councillor David Lewis asked his colleagues to agree to ask council officers for a “report on the feasibility of and process needed” to change the tradition and to switch out the word “prayer” for “reflection”.

A motion to consider whether the tradition of opening meetings in prayer should continue or be broadened was voted down at a meeting of the Fraser Coast Regional Council on Wednesday.

But the door is still open for members of different religions to lead the prayers at the start of the council meetings, as council chief executive Ken Diehm confirmed he would look to make changes to the existing policy of inviting only Christian ministers to meetings, which could expose the council to accusations of discrimination.

Agnostic councillor David Lewis asked his colleagues to agree to ask council officers for a “report on the feasibility of and process needed” to change the tradition and to switch out the word “prayer” for “reflection”.

“While the Standing Orders do not specify the religion of the person providing the prayer, these have invariably been given by a minister of a Christian religion,” the motion read.

“The allocation of a minister occurs with lists provided by minister fellowships and those ministers that have previously attended.

“Non-Christian religions have therefore been excluded.

Agnostic councillor David Lewis asked his colleagues to agree to ask council officers for a “report on the feasibility of and process needed” to change the tradition and to switch out the word “prayer” for “reflection”.

“Religious affiliation is no longer limited to Christian religions, and many people adhere to no religion at all.”

During the meeting, the councillors heard legal advice had been sought to determine whether the council’s policy was discriminatory, with the advice being that the current practice of only choosing ministers from the Christian faith could result in discrimination and could amount to indirect discrimination.

Mr Diehm said regardless of the result of the vote on Wednesday, that was an issue that would need to be addressed and he would seek further advice regarding making the policy more inclusive.

At the meeting on Wednesday, Mr Lewis said a change in the tradition would allow representatives of other religions to be invited to share words of wisdom, as well as non-religious reflections from “writers or thinkers” and would be “more inclusive”.

“It is not intended to exclude Christian religions, but merely to expand the possibilities,” he said.

Agnostic councillor David Lewis asked his colleagues to agree to ask council officers for a “report on the feasibility of and process needed” to change the tradition and to switch out the word “prayer” for “reflection”.

A change to the Standing Order was needed to cater for the fact that not all reflections would include a prayer, Mr Lewis said.

He said the motion was not a threat to Christian sensibilities and would not abolish Christian prayer.

“It merely allows for others to be involved as well,” he said.

Mayor George Seymour also spoke in favour of the motion, but the councillors opposed to the motion did not offer their thoughts on the matter.

But after the meeting, Councillor Paul Truscott said he was satisfied with the outcome of the motion on the opening prayer of council.

“With regard to comments made that the opening prayer conducted by Christian ministers is considered discriminatory and a breach of human rights, I personally disagree with this,” he said.

“The legal advice received uses words such as ‘likely’ or ‘could be’. The advice is not definitive and it is contestable.

“The current standing orders policy does not specify that it must be a Christian prayer, however that has been the longstanding tradition and I acknowledge that.

“The existing policy itself does not discriminate.

“I understand that the opening prayer practice has been in place since the 1800s.

“Not one person has ever complained to me about it from the public.

“I expect the public would be far more concerned that council just get on with its job, and for councillors to stop wasting resources.

“Since the motion was refused, Mr Diehm contacted the Human Rights Commission for further information. The HRC would not provide advice, however, the CEO has now advised that he will not continue with the existing practice of having Christian ministers attend, but instead ask that the chairman or the chair’s delegate will be asked to provide an opening prayer.”

The motion was voted down 4-7.

The motion was due before council November 2022 meeting but Mr Lewis asked Mr Diehm to withdraw it after he became unwell suddenly.