THE Senate on Friday approved a resolution to refer the proposed amendment to the prayer for Parliament to the Standing Orders Committee of the Senate for revision.

Leader of government business, Senator Burchell Whiteman, who tabled the resolution, said there had been discussion, both at the parliamentary level and among the public, on the subject of the wording of the prayer.

“I think it is actually more than the form of the words,” Whiteman noted, adding: “It’s the matter of the nature of the prayer and concerns about it being appropriate both for our time and place and for the all-inclusive nature of our society and our governance structures, that we should have a new prayer for use in the Parliament. With this in mind, I asked that the resolution be approved and the matter be referred to the Standing Orders Committee for consideration and report.”

Opposition Senator, Anthony Johnson, while supporting the measure, said it was also suggested that the Standing Orders Committee examine the question of the hours of meeting of the Senate, and requested that that item be placed on the agenda.

He also asked whether the prayer was submitted, for consideration, to religious organisations and other agencies of civil society, which have a particular interest in it.

Senator Whiteman replied that most of the work on the prayer was initiated in the Lower House, and there was consultation with a broad cross section of persons.

He said that between now and the time the committee meets, he would endeavour to obtain the information as to the processes, to date, with that particular exercise, as it was important to include as broad a consensus as possible.

The Senate also continued debate on a Private Members’ Motion, introduced on February 28 by Government senator Keste Miller, that called on the nation to support the Government’s recent initiatives to fight crime and violence.

Friday’s debate was opened by Government senator, Noel Montieth, who called for laws to be enacted to protect children from irresponsible parents and from men who impregnate teenage girls, as these actions were, he said, acts of terrorism.