THE new King Island Council will stand by its decision to no longer open ordinary meetings with a Christian prayer. The council has also apologised for the “insensitive” way the information was made public.
In October the previous council group voted and accepted that the King Island Council will begin each ordinary meeting with a moment of reflection and that this be followed by an acknowledgement to the traditional owners of the land.
At the November 15 meeting a question without notice queried to what extent the community’s opinions had been sought and a petition was tabled. A second question was around the research done to inform the wording of the acknowledgment to country.
Mayor Marcus Blackie said the council had received a signed petition from the King Island Christian denominations as well as additional historical research to inform this issue. “Council has also been contacted by many ratepayers and founding families concerned with the overall handling of this issue,” he said. “Council has accepted those concerns and we do apologise for the insensitive way this was released, in particular any offense taken by our Christian community.
“This insensitivity was totally unintentional; however, council accepts responsibility and is acting quickly to rectify the situation. “An internal review has commenced into all material related to this Working Group. “When appropriate the Working Group will reconvene with additional information and fine tune the council meeting opening statement. “We are confident of a final outcome that will be inclusive and respectful to all King Islanders.”
The previous council group, term began in 2018 and included the ritual to open an ordinary council meeting with a Christian prayer and to invite a member of the main Christian denominations, on rotation, to say a Christian prayer.
The council was asked to consider the question: “After considering our diverse community, what is the most appropriate way to begin a council meeting on King Island that celebrates acceptance and inclusivity.” A working group was formed and reported to council.
The opening of council meetings is an Australia-wide discussion. Some have kept a prayer, but have opted for an all-religions and belief systems statement on rotation. Some have only a moment of reflection without guidance, others declare the meeting open and others continue to debate the matter.
The currently voted and accepted statements that begin an ordinary council meeting are: “Councillors, to begin this meeting [I/we] ask you to stand in silence or reflection of our responsibilities to the people of King Island.” This is followed by: “We begin today by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet today and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. We extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.”