Afternoon Alex,

Thank you for your recent email request.

I have passed this onto our LGOIMA team who will be in response to you
in due course.

Kind Regards

Roimata Sergeant
Customer Centre / Customer Advisor
Rotorua District Council
Tel: 07 348 4199
email: [email address]

-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Harris [mailto:[OIA #162 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 19 April 2012 11:53 a.m.
To: RDC Mail
Subject: TRIM: Local Government Official Information and Meetings
request: Does the Rotorua District Council open its meetings with a
prayer?

Dear Rotorua District Council,

As you may have read recently, the Whanganui District Council
abolished its opening prayer after a complaint was made to the
Human Rights Commission. I'm interested in learning how widespread
this practice is, so I'd like to request the following information
under the LGOIMA:

* Does the Council open its meetings with a prayer? * If the answer
to the above is "yes", then I'd like a copy of that prayer (or
examples, if more than one is used), when the practice was first
established, whether the council has considered abolishing it in
the wake of the Whanganui decision, and any advice the council may
hold on the prayer's compatibility with both the Human Rights Act
1993 and Bill of Rights Act 1990.

I would prefer to receive an electronic response. Queries about
this request will be automatically forwarded to me by the
fyi.org.nz website.

Yours faithfully,

Alex Harris

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be
published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
http://fyi.org.nz/help/about#officers

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[OIA #162 email]

Is [Rotorua District Council request email] the wrong address for Local Government Official
Information and Meetings requests to Rotorua District Council?

If so please contact us using this form:
http://fyi.org.nz/help/contact

If you find FYI useful as an OIA officer, please ask your web
manager to suggest us on your organisation's OIA page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: - This message may contain privileged and confidential information.
If you are not the intended recipient, please do not copy, use or disclose
it to anyone and notify us immediately by return email before deleting this
email message.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

hide quoted sections

Dear Mr Harris

request under local government official information and meetings act

I refer to your request of 19 April 2012.

I confirm that Rotorua District Council opens its council meeting with a
prayer, in both Maori and English.  This has been the practice since the
Rotorua District Council was formed with the amalgamation of the Rotorua
City and County Councils in 1979.

Rotorua District Council has no intention of abolishing this practice in
light of the Whanganui decision.

The RDC prayer is as follows:

Council Prayer
Almighty God, who alone is the leader of all mankind and the fountain of
all knowledge.
Send thy blessing upon us your servants this evening as we strive to do
all things good for the betterment of the people of the Rotorua District.

May we be tolerant in ourselves at all times.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Karakia mo te kaunihera
E te Atua kaha rawa, ko koe te tohu rangitira, te tohu matauranga.
Manaakitia mai matau, au pononga i tenei po, e mahi nei i a matou mahi, mo
te painga o nga tangata o te kaunihera o Rotorua.

Takua mai kia tau, te rangimarie ki runga, i a matou i nga wa katoa.
Ko Ihu Karaiti hoki to matou Ariki.

Amine

Yours faithfully

Jean-Paul Gaston
Group Manager, Corporate and Customer Services

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: - This message may contain privileged and confidential information.
If you are not the intended recipient, please do not copy, use or disclose
it to anyone and notify us immediately by return email before deleting
this email message.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

hide quoted sections