The ACT Legislative Assembly last night passed a motion telling their Speaker Vicki Dunne not to organise a service to mark the start of the Assembly year.

This was in response to a service held at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Manuka (a large Church close to Parliament House) on Monday, which was addressed by Stuart Robinson (The Anglican Bishop of Canberra-Goulburn) and Sean Stanton (National Secretary of the Australian Christian churches).

It was a Christian service but representatives of Buddhist, Christian Scientists and the Bahai presented greetings to the packed church. The Canberra Times reported that the territory’s Uniting Church Presbytery decided not to take part because the ceremony was not ”multifaith enough”.

ACT Legislative Assembly

”The Assembly is a secular institution here to represent all Canberrans regardless of their religious faith belief or philosophical perspective,” Attorney General Mr Corbell told the Canberra Times . ”What occurred last Monday was wrong, it should not have happened and this motion is designed to make it clear that it should not happen again in that manner.”

The service was boycotted by eight Labor members of the Assembly and a Greens member. They form the majority on the Assembly, and this Labor-Green coalition is the territory government. Vicky Dunne, the speaker is a Liberal: the numbers on the Assembly are finely balanced.

The ABC reports that Attorney-General Corbell moved the motion banning the Assembly from being formally linked with any religious service.

“This is an assembly for all Canberrans, it should be separate from the practice of any particular religious faith,” he said.

Chief Minister Katy Gallagher says the motion is is an important change.

“It is important that secular history and tradition be maintained,” she said.

ACT Liberals opposed the motion. Eternity understands the motion involved a change to standing orders, banning the speaker from organising a religious service.

The Australian Christian Lobby’s Lyle Shelton told Eternity  the ACL “is disappointed with the motion passed in the ACT assembly to ban religious services after the Speaker of the House organised a service to commence the beginning of the parliamentary year”.

“It is disappointing that Labor members boycotted the service and voted in favour of the motion on Thursday to ban religious services.

“It is not a breach of the distinct roles of the Government or the church if an elected Assembly chooses to hold a religious service. The motion is unnecessarily restricting the freedom of the legislative assembly”.