Thumbs down for Lord’s Prayer

Karen Thorp is disappointed with the councillors' response to the petition.

By Catherine Watson
 
A MOVE to reinstate the Lord’s Prayer before Bass Coast Shire Council meetings got short shrift from councillors at yesterday’s council meeting.
 
Petitions to the council usually “lie on the table” for a report to be prepared for a future council meeting but this one was rejected immediately.
 
Cr Tim O’Brien described the petition as “mischief making” that would only cause division in the community.
 
Councillors voted to drop the Lord’s Prayer in 2014 and replace it with a Statement of Acknowledgement and a short councillor statement.

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Introducing the petition, lead petitioner Karen Thorp, an assistant pastor with the Grace Chapel in Archies Creek, said the move to secularise council proceedings had sent a clear message that faith had no place in the community.

“The Lord’s Prayer has been a longstanding and respected part of the formal procedures in both houses of the Victorian Parliament - the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council since 1857.

“Its recitation serves as a public acknowledgment of the serious responsibility held by elected representatives to serve with integrity and humility.”

The numbers

• In the 2021 Census, 50.1% of Bass Coast residents said they had no religion, while 39.2 per cent listed their religion as some form of Christianity.
• ​50 of Victoria’s 79 councils have dropped the Lord’s Prayer.
• All but one of Australian parliaments retain the Lord’s Prayer in some form.
• The Victorian Labor Government backed away from a commitment to replace it in 2024 after more than 10,000 people signed a petition asking Parliament to retain it.

Ms Thorp said many people in Wonthaggi factories and offices were delighted to sign the petition and pass it on. She concluded her appeal by reciting the Lord’s Prayer, the first time it’s been heard in the council chambers for 11 years.

The recitation failed to move Cr Ron Bauer, a former state president of the Reason Party, who moved the motion to stick with the councillor statement.
 
“This is a multicultural country. There are 1500 religions and belief systems on the planet. Each one is relevant as the next, including atheism. I do not see why we should privilege one above the other.
 
“The most ecumenical solution is not to introduce any non-secular prayer chants and invitations.
 
“Let's leave the prayers and praying in the church and concentrate of the business of council in council.

​“I grew up a Catholic. I can do the full Latin mass, if you like. But now, like the majority of Australians, I've got as much religion as a cat.”
Cr Tim O’Brien

Cr O’Brien said he had no doubt the petitioners were sincere. “But using the Lord's Prayer to publicly acknowledge the responsibility one has to the people we are serving is eye-wash.
 
“I'm very opposed to this. Australia is a secular country. We only need to look at the last census where only 43% of Australians identified themselves as Christian. We've got multiple religions being practised.”
 
The motion to stick with the councillor statement passed by eight votes to one, with Cr Meg Edwards the lone voice against.
 
Ms Thorp said she was disappointed by the vote. “There are a lot of people who feel they have not been heard, it's very disappointing because we are concerned the councillors are not taking accountability seriously while they represent us.”

Bass Coast Shire Councillor Statement

The following statement is read out before every public council meeting.
​
All members of this Council pledge to the Bass Coast Shire community to consider every item listed on this agenda:

• Based on the individual merits of each item;
• Without bias or prejudice by maintaining an open mind; and
• Disregarding Councillors’ personal interests so as to avoid any conflict with our public duty.

 
Any Councillor having a conflict of interest in an item will make a proper, prior disclosure to the meeting and will not participate in the debate or vote on the issue.