Melbourne’s City of Boroondara has halted the use of a Christian prayer at its meetings. 

The council has decided to stop using a prayer in council meetings which asks God to “direct and prosper [council’s] deliberations to the advancement of your glory and the true welfare of the people”.

The decision was made after the council received a legal letter claiming that the inclusion of the prayer was unlawful. 

The religious invocation was deemed to be in violation of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities by Jennifer Kanis, a social justice principal at Maurice Blackburn lawyers, who acted pro bono for Boroondara councillor Victor Franco. 

Kanis argued that the prayer’s inclusion was beyond the powers given to the council by the government, and that it contravened the charter’s requirements for equal and effective protection against discrimination, freedom of thought, religion, belief, and the right and opportunity to participate in public affairs without discrimination.

The Boroondara council has included the mandatory devotion in its meetings since 1996, but last week’s meeting marked the first since it was dropped. 

Boroondara Mayor Felicity Sinfield has previously supported the prayer’s retention, but Franco, who has been censured by the council in the past for making public comments about the prayer, argued that its use excluded those of other faiths and those with no religious beliefs. 

He also claimed to have felt under “very real pressure” to participate in the religious act. 

Last month, 21 state councillors wrote to the state government calling for guidelines to end Christian prayers in local council meetings, arguing that the widespread use of one faith’s prayers was “inconsistent with the multicultural and multi-faith diversity of the communities the council represents”.

The City of Boroondara has stated that the council prayer was introduced to remind councillors of their obligation to act in the best interests of the community and to create a shared commitment, and that it will begin community consultation to determine whether the option to read the prayer at meetings should be removed from governance rules. The Local Government Act requires council to go through a consultation process.