The Last Prayer: Moyne councillors vote to cut Christian ties

“This whole process of getting rid of prayer is very hypocritical and typical of the left. They want to destroy the family unit, they want to fill the kids’ heads with stupid ideas about white supremacy, climate change and other things.”

Occasionally council meetings drift from the parish pump issues - footpaths, rubbish collection, Christmas lights - into the realms of the truly absurd.

So it was on Tuesday at Moyne Council’s monthly meeting, as councillors became highly animated over the issue of … prayer. Specifically, opening each meeting with a Christian prayer.

Councillor Jordan Lockett moved a motion to stop the tradition of opening with a Christian prayer, and then it was on.

“I found it quite an odd way to start a meeting, because we're not a church," Lockett said,  emphasising his view was “not anti religion at all”.

“I do feel strongly about the state and the church being separate,” he said. “I also feel strongly about inclusivity, that other faiths are not included in this prayer at the start of the meeting.”

The councillor who managed to tie Christian prayer, white supremacy, the political left, destroying the family unit and climate change into the same sentence was Jim Doukas, a snowy-haired former dairy farmer who has been on council since 2002. 

Councillor Susan Taylor delivered a fiery statement in favour of retaining the prayer, declaring Western civilisation was “in a war for the soul”; she warned councillors that they would be “culpable for what follows” and “the consequences” if prayer was removed from meetings. 

Local resident Jordan Hill argued the country’s founding legal system was based on Christian values and tradition and that “we are all, at least culturally, Christians in this country”. 

Another local, Jane Gail, questioned why the council would “actively take away prayer”, arguing that Christian faith was a well-represented religion throughout the shire.

A suggestion from Councillor Lisa Ryan to include a "moment of silence or peace" to allow for personal prayer was welcomed by Lockett.

Councillor Lloyd Ross said he was “not a religious person at all, [I] don't believe in any of it, but I do respect a protocol and a process, and maybe a position that the Christian prayer is part of, that it's a foundation, a beacon, a starting point of modern Australia”.

Councillor Myra Murrihy read a message from a child sexual assault victim: “As a victim of child sexual assault by a priest, why should I be re-traumatised having to hear the Lord's Prayer read out every time I wish to address my elected representatives?”

The motion was carried, with Lockett, Ryan, Foster and Murrihy in favour, and Ross, Taylor and Doukas against. 

It is unclear when the new secular arrangements will be introduced.