A member of Victoria’s upper house says the Allan government is “running out of excuses” for having not delivered on its promise of four years ago to replace parliament’s daily prayer ritual with a more inclusive practice.

In a speech to the Legislative Council last week, Georgie Purcell (pictured) asked the government to provide an update on the progress that it had made in developing a new practice that would better reflect the Victorian community.

“I appreciate that it is important to have a model that is consistent and canvasses the views of both houses, but almost four years have passed since the government committed to making changes, and the government is running out of excuses,” said Ms Purcell, of the Animal Justice Party.

“The continued use of the Lord’s Prayer is, clearly, no longer fit for a modern, multicultural Victoria, and that is evidenced by the amount of us standing outside the door at the beginning of the day every single day. 

“The action that I seek is for the Leader of the Government to update us all on the progress being made to work with the Leader of the Government in the other house on developing a replacement for the Lord’s Prayer for both chambers of this Parliament before the term is over.”

This week, the Rationalist Society of Australia has written to Premier Jacinta Allan, seeking confirmation on whether her government still plans to deliver on its promise to Victorians to replace the parliament’s daily prayers with something more inclusive and reflective of the community.

RSA Executive Director Si Gladman noted that it had been 1401 days since the Labor government promised to “workshop a replacement model that is purpose-fit for Victoria”.

“With the next state election due next year, Victorians want to see your government now deliver on this commitment,” he said.

As the RSA reported last year, one-third of the total number of lawmakers in the Legislative Council are boycotting the prayers.

After Premier Allan revealed that she wanted to see parliament’s practices reflect the state’s cultural diversity, the RSA wrote to her and the then Attorney-General, Jaclyn Symes, in late January last year, urging them to act on the matter.

However, the government appeared to back down from its commitment mid year following a coordinated campaign spearheaded by the Australian Christian Lobby and Liberal Party members of parliament.

In August, the RSA wrote to Premier Allan seeking confirmation on whether the government would keep its commitment. But it has not received a reply. 

The RSA was also among a number of pro-secular groups that sent a joint letter to all members of the parliament asking them to support replacing prayers.

The Rationalist Society of Australia is actively lobbying and 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.

Image: Georgie Purcell – Animal Justice Party MP (Facebook)