Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:55:37 +1200
Subject: Local Government Official Information and Meetings request: Does the South Waikato District Council open its meetings with a prayer?
From: Alex Harris <[FYI request #167 email]>
To: LGOIMA requests at South Waikato District Council <[email address]>

     Dear South Waikato District Council,

     As you may have read recently, the Whanganui District Council
     abolished its opening prayer after a complaint was made to the
     Human Rights Commission. I'm interested in learning how widespread
     this practice is, so I'd like to request the following information
     under the LGOIMA:

     * Does the Council open its meetings with a prayer? * If the answer
     to the above is "yes", then I'd like a copy of that prayer (or
     examples, if more than one is used), when the practice was first
     established, whether the council has considered abolishing it in
     the wake of the Whanganui decision, and any advice the council may
     hold on the prayer's compatibility with both the Human Rights Act
     1993 and Bill of Rights Act 1990.

     I would prefer to receive an electronic response. Queries about
     this request will be automatically forwarded to me by the
     fyi.org.nz website.

     Yours faithfully,

     Alex Harris


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