A senior Victorian Liberal member of parliament has boasted that his party “saved the Lord’s Prayer” from being removed from the state parliament.

In a speech to the parliament earlier this month, Evan Mulholland (pictured) gave credit to the Liberal Party for the Labor government’s failure to deliver on its 2021 commitment to replace the parliament’s daily Christian acts of worship.

“We of course saved the Lord’s Prayer, an election commitment made in this place and publicly by the government, which the Premier recently at a Lebanese event said was not actually a commitment by the government,” he said.

The Rationalist Society of Australia has not been able to find a record of what Premier Allan said at the Lebanese event.

As reported by the RSA last year, Liberal Party members fronted an Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) campaign that called for the state parliament to continue the practice of imposing Christian prayers as part of formal parliament proceedings.

In 2024, Mr Mulholland told the parliament that the Opposition would “fiercely oppose” any attempt to remove prayers from the state parliament, arguing that the observation of Christian prayers, including the Lord’s Prayer, “is consistent with Victoria’s diverse community”.

The Allan government has not answered questions from the RSA and members of parliament on why it has failed to deliver on the commitment – given by then Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes 1608 days ago – to “workshop a replacement model that is purpose-fit for Victoria” during the 2022-2026 term of parliament.

A large number of MPs – including Labor MPs – are forced to boycott the recital of prayers in both the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, having to wait outside the chambers until they are completed.

Earlier this month, RSA Executive Director Si Gladman wrote to the new Victorian Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny, seeking clarity on when the Allan government would deliver on its promise and introduce more appropriate practices.

Speaking today, Mr Gladman called on the Allan government to get on with the job of introducing a new secular practice that reflects modern Victoria and that is welcoming and inclusive of all people.

“The Victorian Labor government should support secular governance and equality of all people, regardless of religion or belief. It should not take orders from the religious clerics, religious lobbyists and political opponents who support continued religious privilege. Secular-minded Victorians are watching and waiting to see if the government will keep this promise,” he said.

In May this year, Georgie Purcell, a member of the Legislative Council, said the government was “running out of excuses” and put a question on notice asking for an update on the government’s progress on the issue.

A response was due in June, but the Allan government still has not provided an answer to Purcell’s question.

In early 2024, Premier Allan indicated that she wanted to see parliament’s practices reflect the state’s cultural diversity.

In mid 2024, however, the government appeared to back down from its commitment following a coordinated campaign spearheaded by the ACL, other religious clerics, and Liberal Party members of parliament.

Earlier this year, the RSA – supported by eight non-religious, ex-religious and pro-secular organisations – highlighted the issue of prayers in parliaments in a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (fourth cycle) into Australia’s human rights. The submission argued that it was an example of discriminatory and unfair treatment against non-religious people in breach of Australia’s international commitments to treating religion and belief equally.

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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Image: Evan Mulholland (Facebook)