By Brendan Rees
A Cranbourne pastor says he’s offended after discovering Casey Council had removed references to faith based groups and activities from its website.
Pastor Phillip Cayzer of the Turning Point Church said any references to the words ‘church’, ‘faith, ‘assembly, and ‘religion’ appeared to have been removed from the council website.
“Whether its churches or mosques or any faith groups – they have all been wiped collectively,” Mr Cayzer said.
“They’re selectively promoting certain groups but excluding other groups,” he said, noting his search results only found carol services and other community-based events.
Mr Cayzer, who was named Star News Person of the Year in 2018, raised his concern during public question time at the council meeting on Tuesday 7 July.
His question, which was read at the virtual meeting, asked council why they were “trying to mislead the residence of the City of Casey regarding the inclusiveness of faith groups within our Great city?”
In response, Casey Council chair of administrators Noelene Duff said she had personally viewed the website and “can confirm there’s extensive resources that the various faith groups and local churches are contributing during the coronavirus and they are listed in quite a lot of detail on our website including contact details”.
She added: “The City of Casey proudly acknowledges the richness and diversity of Casey’s faith communities, and the vital role of faith organisations in creating an inclusive and connected community for all residents.”
Mr Cayzer claimed the “only reference” to the word religion was a course that had been held by the Casey U3A last year stating “spirituality transcends tribal religions”.
“I’ve mentioned it three times to them (council). It’s still on their website so it’s not even relevant,” he said.
“I am personally offended by it.”
Mr Cayzer, who is now seeking legal advice as he believed the removal of religious references was a breach of the Australian Constitution, said he was further stunned that council had taken out the prayer and multi-faith reading at the start of each council meeting and replaced it with a ‘diversity statement’ – which was “not acceptable”.
Another resident expressed he was “quite distressed” after submitting a question to council at a June meeting asking why the prayer and multi-faith statement had been removed “without consultation or representation”.
Ms Duff said the diversity statement “articulates our values around inclusion and diversity, including reference to the vital role that faith groups play in the community”.
When addressing the U3A course, Ms Duff said it was not a council-funded program, “but rather a community event listing”.
Meanwhile, Mr Cayzer said council’s response was “absolute jargon” and the removal of religious references was “not appropriate that they simply wiped things out”.
