Does the Bay of Plenty Regional Council open its meetings with a prayer?
Alex Harris made this Official Information request to Bay of Plenty Regional Council
The request was successful.
From: Alex Harris
Dear Bay of Plenty Regional 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
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Thank you for using our information service.
Your email has been referred to a member of Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff for the appropriate action.
Please note, you do not need to respond to this automated message.
If you require urgent assistance or follow up, please contact us by phone on 0800 368 267.
[Bay of Plenty Regional Council request email] | Bay of Plenty Regional Council | Whakatane, New Zealand |
Ph: 0800 368 267 | Web: www.envbop.govt.nz<http://www.envbop.govt.nz/>
From: Sonia Delahunty
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Dear Alex
We confirm receipt of your request for information. The request has been forwarded to the appropriate person and will be responded to in a timely manner.
Yours faithfully
Sonia Delahunty | Electronic Information Advisor | Bay of Plenty Regional Council | Whakatane, New Zealand | Ph: 0800 884 881 x9223 | Web: www.boprc.govt.nz
Please consider the environment before printing this email
-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Harris [mailto:[OIA #156 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, 18 April 2012 12:56 p.m.
To: Web Info Requests
Subject: Local Government Official Information and Meetings request: Does the Bay of Plenty Regional Council open its meetings with a prayer?
Dear Bay of Plenty Regional 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
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be
published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
http://fyi.org.nz/help/about#officers
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[OIA #156 email]
Is [Bay of Plenty Regional Council request email] the wrong address for Local Government
Official Information and Meetings requests to Bay of Plenty
Regional Council?
If so please contact us using this form:
http://fyi.org.nz/help/contact
If you find FYI useful as an OIA officer, please ask your web
manager to suggest us on your organisation's OIA page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
**********************************************************************
This e-mail message has been swept for viruses and none was found.
Content was not checked
Email disclaimer: This email and any attachments are confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, do not copy, disclose or use the contents in any way. If you receive this message in error, please let us know by return email and then destroy the message. Bay of Plenty Regional Council is not responsible for any changes made to this message and/or any attachments after sending.
******************************************************
This e-mail has been checked for viruses and none were detected.
______________________________________________________________________________
This email has been filtered by SMX.
For more information visit http://smxemail.com
______________________________________________________________________________
hide quoted sections
From: Kelly Paterson
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Dear Mr Harris
Your email request was forwarded to me to respond to.
As you requested, under the Local Government and Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 : "Does the Bay of Plenty Regional Council open its meetings with a prayer?"
Yes it does, at Council's full Council and Māori committee meetings.
Yours faithfully,
Kelly Paterson
On behalf of Mary-Anne Macleod | Chief Executive | Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Kelly Paterson | Chief Executives Private Secretary | Bay of Plenty Regional Council | Whakatane, New Zealand | Ph: 0800 884 881 x9132 | Web: www.boprc.govt.nz
Please consider the environment before printing this email
-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Harris [mailto:[OIA #156 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, 18 April 2012 12:56 p.m.
To: Web Info Requests
Subject: Local Government Official Information and Meetings request: Does the Bay of Plenty Regional Council open its meetings with a prayer?
Dear Bay of Plenty Regional 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
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be
published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
http://fyi.org.nz/help/about#officers
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[OIA #156 email]
Is [Bay of Plenty Regional Council request email] the wrong address for Local Government
Official Information and Meetings requests to Bay of Plenty
Regional Council?
If so please contact us using this form:
http://fyi.org.nz/help/contact
If you find FYI useful as an OIA officer, please ask your web
manager to suggest us on your organisation's OIA page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
**********************************************************************
This e-mail message has been swept for viruses and none was found.
Content was not checked
Email disclaimer: This email and any attachments are confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, do not copy, disclose or use the contents in any way. If you receive this message in error, please let us know by return email and then destroy the message. Bay of Plenty Regional Council is not responsible for any changes made to this message and/or any attachments after sending.
******************************************************
This e-mail has been checked for viruses and none were detected.
______________________________________________________________________________
This email has been filtered by SMX.
For more information visit http://smxemail.com
______________________________________________________________________________
hide quoted sections
From: Kelly Paterson
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Dear Mr Harris
My sincerest apologies as I have not responded fully to your request. I am now waiting for further information from Governance and will provide the response as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully,
Kelly Paterson
Kelly Paterson | Chief Executives Private Secretary | Bay of Plenty Regional Council | Whakatane, New Zealand | Ph: 0800 884 881 x9132 | Web: www.boprc.govt.nz
Please consider the environment before printing this email
-----Original Message-----
From: Kelly Paterson
Sent: Friday, 20 April 2012 10:01 a.m.
To: '[OIA #156 email]'
Subject: RE: Local Government Official Information and Meetings request: Does the Bay of Plenty Regional Council open its meetings with a prayer?
Dear Mr Harris
Your email request was forwarded to me to respond to.
As you requested, under the Local Government and Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 : "Does the Bay of Plenty Regional Council open its meetings with a prayer?"
Yes it does, at Council's full Council and Māori committee meetings.
Yours faithfully,
Kelly Paterson
On behalf of Mary-Anne Macleod | Chief Executive | Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Kelly Paterson | Chief Executives Private Secretary | Bay of Plenty Regional Council | Whakatane, New Zealand | Ph: 0800 884 881 x9132 | Web: www.boprc.govt.nz Please consider the environment before printing this email
-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Harris [mailto:[OIA #156 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, 18 April 2012 12:56 p.m.
To: Web Info Requests
Subject: Local Government Official Information and Meetings request: Does the Bay of Plenty Regional Council open its meetings with a prayer?
Dear Bay of Plenty Regional 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
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be
published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
http://fyi.org.nz/help/about#officers
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[OIA #156 email]
Is [Bay of Plenty Regional Council request email] the wrong address for Local Government
Official Information and Meetings requests to Bay of Plenty
Regional Council?
If so please contact us using this form:
http://fyi.org.nz/help/contact
If you find FYI useful as an OIA officer, please ask your web
manager to suggest us on your organisation's OIA page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
**********************************************************************
This e-mail message has been swept for viruses and none was found.
Content was not checked
Email disclaimer: This email and any attachments are confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, do not copy, disclose or use the contents in any way. If you receive this message in error, please let us know by return email and then destroy the message. Bay of Plenty Regional Council is not responsible for any changes made to this message and/or any attachments after sending.
******************************************************
This e-mail has been checked for viruses and none were detected.
______________________________________________________________________________
This email has been filtered by SMX.
For more information visit http://smxemail.com
______________________________________________________________________________
hide quoted sections
From: Kelly Paterson
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Dear Mr Harris
In answer to your questions:
1 The prayer currently used to open Full Council meetings is:
E te Atua nui tonu, ko matau enei
e inoi atu nei ki a koe, kia tau mai
te maramatanga ki a matau
whakarite mo tenei ra, arahina
hoki matau, e eke ai te oranga
tonu ki nga ahuatanga katoa a nga
tangata ki to matau rohe whanui
tonu. Amine
“Almighty God we ask that you
give us wisdom in the decisions
we make here today and give us
guidance in working with our
regional communities to promote
their social, economic,
environmental and cultural wellbeing.
Amen”.
2 The practice was first established when the BOP Regional Council was first established in 1989.
3 To the best of our knowledge, Council has not considered abolishing its opening prayer in the wake of the Whanganui decision.
4 To the best of our knowledge, Council does not hold any advice on its prayers compatibility with both the Human Rights Act 1993 and Bill of Rights Act 1990.
5 In respect of an opening prayer at Māori Committee Meetings - Māori Committee meetings are held on marae throughout the region. Individual Marae protocol is followed by way of powhiri that includes mihi and karakia.
Yours faithfully,
Kelly Paterson
On behalf of Mary-Anne Macleod | Chief Executive | Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Kelly Paterson | Chief Executives Private Secretary | Bay of Plenty Regional Council | Whakatane, New Zealand | Ph: 0800 884 881 x9132 | Web: www.boprc.govt.nz
Please consider the environment before printing this email
-----Original Message-----
From: Kelly Paterson
Sent: Friday, 20 April 2012 10:12 a.m.
To: '[OIA #156 email]'
Subject: RE: Local Government Official Information and Meetings request: Does the Bay of Plenty Regional Council open its meetings with a prayer?
Dear Mr Harris
My sincerest apologies as I have not responded fully to your request. I am now waiting for further information from Governance and will provide the response as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully,
Kelly Paterson
Kelly Paterson | Chief Executives Private Secretary | Bay of Plenty Regional Council | Whakatane, New Zealand | Ph: 0800 884 881 x9132 | Web: www.boprc.govt.nz Please consider the environment before printing this email
-----Original Message-----
From: Kelly Paterson
Sent: Friday, 20 April 2012 10:01 a.m.
To: '[OIA #156 email]'
Subject: RE: Local Government Official Information and Meetings request: Does the Bay of Plenty Regional Council open its meetings with a prayer?
Dear Mr Harris
Your email request was forwarded to me to respond to.
As you requested, under the Local Government and Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 : "Does the Bay of Plenty Regional Council open its meetings with a prayer?"
Yes it does, at Council's full Council and Māori committee meetings.
Yours faithfully,
Kelly Paterson
On behalf of Mary-Anne Macleod | Chief Executive | Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Kelly Paterson | Chief Executives Private Secretary | Bay of Plenty Regional Council | Whakatane, New Zealand | Ph: 0800 884 881 x9132 | Web: www.boprc.govt.nz Please consider the environment before printing this email
-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Harris [mailto:[OIA #156 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, 18 April 2012 12:56 p.m.
To: Web Info Requests
Subject: Local Government Official Information and Meetings request: Does the Bay of Plenty Regional Council open its meetings with a prayer?
Dear Bay of Plenty Regional 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
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be
published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
http://fyi.org.nz/help/about#officers
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[OIA #156 email]
Is [Bay of Plenty Regional Council request email] the wrong address for Local Government
Official Information and Meetings requests to Bay of Plenty
Regional Council?
If so please contact us using this form:
http://fyi.org.nz/help/contact
If you find FYI useful as an OIA officer, please ask your web
manager to suggest us on your organisation's OIA page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
**********************************************************************
This e-mail message has been swept for viruses and none was found.
Content was not checked
Email disclaimer: This email and any attachments are confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, do not copy, disclose or use the contents in any way. If you receive this message in error, please let us know by return email and then destroy the message. Bay of Plenty Regional Council is not responsible for any changes made to this message and/or any attachments after sending.
******************************************************
This e-mail has been checked for viruses and none were detected.
______________________________________________________________________________
This email has been filtered by SMX.
For more information visit http://smxemail.com
______________________________________________________________________________
hide quoted sections
From: Alex Harris
Dear Kelly Paterson,
Thanks for your full, complete, and quick reply.
Yours sincerely,
Alex Harris
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence
Offensive? Unsuitable?
Requests for personal information and vexatious requests are not considered valid requests for Official Information (read more).
If you believe this request is not suitable, you can report it for attention by the site administrators
Report this request