Two elected representatives at a New South Wales council have walked out of a meeting instead of standing with their colleagues to observe Christian prayers, marking a defining moment in their push to remove acts of religious worship from local government.
During Tuesday’s general meeting at Oberon Council, councillors Ian Tucker (pictured) and Katie Graham left the chamber at the commencement of the opening prayer, having previously pleaded with their colleagues not to impose religion.
As reported by the Rationalist Society of Australia, Oberon Council ruled in December last year to continue imposing prayers as part of council’s Code of Meeting Practice, but introduced a concession to allow councillors and staff to “remove themselves” if they do not wish to participate.
Previously, other councillors at Oberon had argued that observing prayers as part of formal meetings was about “returning spirituality in the community” but “not about pushing any religion”.
The livestreamed footage of Tuesday’s meeting shows Cr Tucker and Cr Graham getting out of their chairs and then walking out of the council chamber, where they stay for the one-minute duration while prayers are recited by a Catholic priest.
In introducing the prayer, Mayor Andrew McKibbon said anyone who wished to be absent for the prayer would be “welcome to do so” and confirmed that no apology would be needed.
Since late last year, the RSA has been raising concerns with Oberon Council about the imposing of acts of religious worship and the infringement on freedom of religion, thought and conscience.
The RSA has also raised concerns with Oberon Council about the likely unlawful nature of the practice of incorporating prayers into its meetings, warning that it could expose the council to legal risks.
Last month, the RSA again outlined these legal concerns in a letter to Mayor McKibbon and the council’s general manager Gary Wallace. These concerns included: that the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) does not authorise councils to include a prayer as part of their official business, and that it is unlawful for a council to do something not authorised by law; that the state’s Model code of meeting practice for local councils in NSW 2025 requires Oberon Council to operate in an inclusive manner that respects the diverse needs and interests of the local community; and that councils must not exercise any of their powers for a purpose other than a purpose for which the power was conferred.
In the letter to Mayor McKibbon and Gary Wallace, RSA Executive Director Si Gladman argued that putting the onus on objecting councillors to “remove themselves” from the formal proceedings if they do not wish to participate in forced acts of religious worship was discriminatory.
“It will force councillors to make a decision on whether to conform to the council’s religious practices in direct contradiction to their own deeply-held beliefs, or to physically exclude themselves from the chamber during the duration of the religious activities,” he wrote.
“Far from tempering the discrimination, this will lead to heightened feelings of isolation and exclusion. It will force councillors to reveal their non-religious identities and create further stigmatisation for having to leave the chamber.
“Such a provision is a clear breach of Australia’s various international human rights commitments … that protect ‘freedom of thought, conscience and religion’.”
The RSA also raised these concerns with the Minns government’s minister for local government, Ron Heonig, and called on him to intervene to prevent discrimination against non-religious councillors. But he has not responded.
However, the state’s Office of Local Government told the RSA that “ultimately” it was a “matter for each council to determine whether and what religious observances to hold at their meetings”.
The Rationalist Society of Australia is actively advocating for prayer rituals to be replaced with more appropriate practices in councils and parliaments. See the latest updates here.
Si Gladman is Executive Director of the Rationalist Society of Australia. He also hosts ‘The Secular Agenda’ podcast.
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