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28th of May 2024, 1:15pm
Legislative Council of Victoria, Spring Street, Melbourne

DAVID ETTERSHANK — To move —

That this House notes that —

(1) religion is a deeply personal matter;

(2) the separation of church and state is a central tenet of the Westminster system;

(3) Victoria is a secular state and the Parliament of Victoria is a secular parliament;

(4) Victoria is a multicultural community with a wide diversity of faiths and beliefs;

(5) in the 2021 census, 40.9 per cent of Victorians identified as Christian, 39.3 per cent identified as having no religious affiliation and 13.1 per cent were affiliated with a nonChristian religion;

(6) our Parliament should reflect the diversity of the community, including those who do not believe in deities or are not affiliated to a religion;

(7) of the 41 members sworn in as members of the Legislative Council in the 60th Parliament, only 16 took the oath, whereas 25 took the affirmation, indicating the majority of members do not identify as Christian;

(8) members of Parliament are responsible to the people who elected them and should require no invocation of a ‘higher power’ to do what they are elected to do;

(9) the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer is an anachronism that has no place in this Parliament; and calls on the Legislative Council to amend the Standing Orders to replace the Lord’s Prayer with a minute of reflection, during which time members are free to silently pray as they choose, or to reflect, as parliamentarians, on their responsibilities to the people of Victoria.

[Notice given on 28 May 2024 — Listed for 1 day].

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