Afternoon Mr Harris

I write as the Privacy Officer for the Hamilton City Council.

Hamilton City opens all Ordinary Council Meetings with a prayer. There is
no set format as representatives from a variety of religions are asked to
attend on a rotational basis. This practice was established in 1945.

The Council has not recently reviewed this practice.

regards

----Original Message-----
From: Telephone Operators
Sent: Tuesday, 27 March 2012 7:56 AM
To: Anthony Dick
Subject: FW: Local Government Official Information and Meetings request:
Hamilton City Council prayer

-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Harris [mailto:[1][FYI contact email]]
Sent: Monday, 26 March 2012 8:43 PM
To: Telephone Operators
Subject: Local Government Official Information and Meetings request:
Hamilton City Council prayer

    Dear Hamilton 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
    [2]fyi.org.nz website.

    Yours faithfully,

    Alex Harris

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    Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
    [4][OIA #101 email]

    Is [5][Hamilton City Council request email] the wrong address for Local Government Official
    Information and Meetings requests to Hamilton City Council?

    If so please contact us using this form:
    [6]http://fyi.org.nz/help/contact

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FYI contact email]
2. http://fyi.org.nz/
3. http://fyi.org.nz/help/about#officers
4. mailto:[OIA #101 email]
5. mailto:[Hamilton City Council request email]
6. http://fyi.org.nz/help/contact

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