City of Sydney Greens councillor demands long-standing tradition before meetings be dropped: ‘Inappropriate’

A Greens politician has called on one of Australia’s largest councils to ditch the “inappropriate” tradition of praying before meetings.

Newly elected City of Sydney councilor Matthew Thompson has taken the lead in removing the opening prayer from monthly council meetings, a tradition that has existed for at least two decades.

The prayer follows the Welcome to Country speech and sees the mayor, currently Clover Moore, thanking God for the ‘remarkable’ city.

Mr Thompson, a self-declared agnostic, claimed the prayer no longer reflected Sydney’s demographics and wanted it scrapped or replaced with “something non-secular in nature”.

“For example, the Inner West Council is having a moment of quiet contemplation for councilors to reflect on their duty and the obligations that come with holding office,” Mr Thompson told councilors. Daily Telegraph.

“We are a council, not a church (and) the current prayer does not reflect our community and the wide diversity of views held there.”

According to the latest census, 52 percent of council voters said they had a non-secular faith.

However, Ms Moore has defended the opening prayer inherited from the previous council, adding that she “liked” the tradition.

The Greens councilor claimed the opening prayer (pictured during a council meeting) no longer reflects Sydney’s demographics and wants it scrapped or replaced with “something non-secular in nature”.

Cr Thompson hit back at the mayor’s opposition, arguing that the fact the prayer was “inherited” did not make it “appropriate in a modern multicultural city”.

“We could do away with the prayer altogether and just open it with recognition of the country, but I think the current prayer is inappropriate for our gatherings,” he said.

Mr Thompson’s proposal was presented to council at Monday night’s meeting, where it was rejected.

Had it been supported by the majority of City of Sydney councillors, the decision to retain, change or abolish the prayer would have been subject to community consultation.

Mayor Clover Moore (pictured) defended the opening prayer as something she “inherited from the previous council,” adding that she “liked” the tradition

Atheist state MP Fiona Patten tried in 2021 to scrap the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer before each session of state parliament and replace it with a ‘moment of reflection’.

The now former MP said the prayer did not reflect Victoria’s diverse community, and argued parliament should not privilege one religion over another.

Ms Patten suggested those in the Senate should instead spend the time in silence or reflect on their responsibilities to the state.

She said more than half of her colleagues chose to take a secular pledge instead of a religious one when they were sworn in.

“That’s because we all come from different backgrounds, with a wide range of beliefs – just like the Victorian community we represent,” she said at the time.

Ms Patten’s bid ultimately failed, but was followed by a wave of councils choosing to suspend their prayer openings, including in Victoria.

Proposals to remove prayers have already failed in several Sydney councils, including Randwick and Sutherland.