Printed from https://fyi.org.nz/request/dunedin_council_prayer on April 24, 2024 06:50

Dunedin Council Prayer

Alex Harris made this Official Information request to Dunedin City Council

The request was successful.

From: Alex Harris

Dear Dunedin City 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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From: Sandy Graham
Dunedin City Council

Dear Alex
 
You have asked if the Dunedin City Council still opens its meetings with a
prayer and I provide the following resposne.
 
The Dunedin City Council opens its ordinary Council meetings with a
prayer, as it has done for many years.  Prior to 1995 we had a standard
prayer that was read by the Mayor at the start of each meeting but since
1995, representatives of different faiths have been invited to give the
prayer at the meetings.  We do not require them to provide us with copies
of their prayers so we do not have any examples on file.
 
Those who have given the prayer in the current triennium are listed
below.  Although these represent different Christian denominations,
representatives of non-Christian faiths have participated in the past and
will do so in future.
 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2010 | | |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|26 October (Inaugural)|Very Reverend Dr Trevor |Dean, St Paul's |
| |James |Cathedral |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|13 December |Rev Dr Sarah Mitchell |Knox Church |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|  |  |  |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| 2011 |  |  |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|21 February |Rev Greg Hughson |University Chaplain |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|28 March |Pastor Bruce Elder |Dunedin City Baptist |
| | |Church |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|16 May 2011 |Pastor Adam Dodds |Elim Christian Centre |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|27 June 2011 |Reverend Michael Wallace|All Saints Anglican |
| | |Church |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|8 August 2011 |Edward Ellison |Otakou Runanga |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|10 August 2011 |Major Claire Anderson |Salvation Army |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|19 September 2011 |John Broughton |Otakou Runanga |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|31 October 2011 |Father John Harrison |St Joseph's Cathedral |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|12 December 2011 |Rev Posala Tioa |Samoan Congregational |
| | |Christian Church |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|  |  |  |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
| 2012 |  |  |
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|20 February |Rev Siosifa Pole |Dunedin Methodist Parish|
|----------------------+------------------------+------------------------|
|27 March |Rev Anne Thomson |First Church of Otago |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 
 
The matter of whether to continue with a prayer is considered informally
at the start of each triennium. 
 
So far as I am aware, the Council has not given consideration to
abolishing the prayer in the wake of the Whanganui decision, and the
Council has not sought legal advice on the prayer's compatibility
with either the Human Rights Act 1993 or the Bill of Rights Act 1990.
I trust this answers your enquiry. Please feel free to contact me directly
if you would like further information.
 
Sandy
 
Sandy Graham
Manager, Governance
Dunedin City Council

50 The Octagon, Dunedin; PO Box 5045, Moray Place, Dunedin 9058, New
Zealand
Telephone:  03 477 4000; Fax: 03 474 3488
Email: [email address]; [1]www.dunedin.govt.nz

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References

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1. http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/

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From: Alex Harris

Dear Sandy Graham,

Thankyou for the fast, full, and effective response to my LGOIMA request. It contains everything I was after.

Yours sincerely,

Alex Harris

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Things to do with this request

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