Prayer’s place at council questioned

Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au

A PROPOSAL to consider scrapping the prayer read at the beginning of Frankston Council meetings has failed at the first hurdle.

Public Frankston Council meetings are preceded by the reading of a prayer, addressed to “Almighty God”.

Councillor Sue Baker raised a motion at council’s 2 October meeting asking for a report into the “appropriateness of a single faith prayer”. She called the motion a “response to the changing landscape of councils and community.”

“2021 census data reveals that our community is changing, and religious affiliations are changing,” Baker said. “The use of a Christian prayer or a single-faith prayer is inclusive of less than half of the population of the Frankston community.”

The request for a report was unsuccessful. Councillors Baker, Claire Harvey, and Brad Hill voted for it, and councillors Nathan Conroy, Liam Hughes, and Suzette Tayler opposed. Kris Bolam and David Asker abstained, and Steven Hughes was absent due to suspension.

The mayor Nathan Conroy said that he was concerned the move would spark protests. “This prayer has been around for decades, 70 years as mentioned previously. It does mean a lot to me personally and I also believe it’s part of our sevendecade long history,“ he said. “We have a rich history of Christianity here in Frankston from the Irish and UK population as well.

“In this instance I would prefer not to go to consultation because I believe in the status quo of the prayer at the council meeting.”

The motion proposed by Baker would have seen a report sent to council in February next year - the report was proposed to cover the purpose of the prayer, the practice at other Victorian councils, and opportunities for consultation.

A summary prepared by Frankston Council officers read that council had not reviewed its prayer practice since its implementation in 1953.

“Of the 79 [councils] in Victoria, approximately half continue to include a Christian prayer, and the other half have either dispensed with the prayer or (a small number) have a rotating interfaith arrangement,” council officers wrote. “Members of the community of Frankston City have asked why a Christian prayer is included in local government meetings.”