GetUp! – The Power of the Petition
Anyone will tell you that change is the hardest thing to achieve. Transformation, a revolution if you like, is what's required sometimes to break the shackles of traditional thinking. The type of thinking that wants to suppress information, look the other way on animal cruelty, deny people equal rights, use unnecessary, polluting and dangerous methods to mine for resources, incarcerate people based upon how they came to this country, and destroy our environment for the sake of profit. GetUp has campaigned against all these things, and much more.
In 2010 they collected over 180,000 signatures for their campaign on mental health issues, for Professor Patrick McGorry's proposal to Kevin Rudd, the then Prime Minister of Australia. Not long ago, a scheme to privatise the ABC and SBS by the Victorian Liberals got squashed due to GetUp getting involved. The sway GetUp has on public opinion cannot be denied. I'm sure some political parties wish they had such clout.
In addition, they have done all this with less than 20 staff. The power of GetUp is in its members, and running on an open platform. With almost 700,000 members, each one wants to see the issues ignored by politicians brought into the public arena, and they financially help support each campaign.
GetUp survives on donations. And unlike most political parties, they openly declare all donations. They subsist on micro contributions, the average donation being $19.00. Almost all of their money goes on advocacy work and advertising for campaigns.
Their affiliations with groups like Chill Out, Children Out of Detention, MoveOn, Democracy in Action, and services they run such as Community Run, which is about helping to put power in the hands of the people; these things are what helps make GetUp work.
However, with all the great work that GetUp do, it's plain that Australian politicians do not listen. Nine new political parties tried to get into our last federal election, because most traditional politicians seem to have their heads in the sand when it comes to setting policies and acting on issues. The world has changed. Technological and social changes have left most political systems and politician clinging to their old ways. There are many similarities between the current political world and the traditional publishing world.
After a severe clubbing over the head, the traditional publishing world is now seeing and adopting these changes. It is change or die; many of them have seen this. It is time for politicians to come into line with the way people think today. People have to form groups like GetUp because governments do not listen.
GetUp works on policies, not in parties. This is their vision for change, and it succeeds. But they don't have the resources that our governments do, and trying to stay ahead of unthought-out, unconsulted decisions that governments make, is a constant battle.
GetUp starts a campaign with a vision survey of its members. On things which they have voiced concerns, like gender issues, political developments, social and environmental problems, and then they take action based upon the results of the survey. Over 500 GetUp Get Togethers have taken place in Australia and other countries. Through direct and indirect involvement, they change things. Like the 2010 change to the Commonwealth Electoral Act, on the premature closing of the electoral rolls which disenfranchised thousands of Australians.
The Australian political system is broken. It is more than obvious that it's not working when we harm people instead of protecting them. Such as on refugee and asylum seeker concerns, plus Aboriginal issues, two things which GetUp constantly fight for. The Australian government does not listen to its people. Governments are here to work for us. People should decide on things as important as asylum seekers, the environment, and the way taxes are used. Because governments consistently get it wrong.
Governments should be made to take action on these and other issues, the way that GetUp does. Start with a survey, not a statistical measurement like the ABS collect on our "demographics," but on issues we are concerned with. On things that we want to see improved, then, put plans into action to bring about change. The work that GetUp continues to do is something that our governments should fix; we voted our governments in to improve things, not to make things worse.
But, imagine, what it would be like if we didn't have GetUp to fight for all the things our governments neglect.
In 2010 they collected over 180,000 signatures for their campaign on mental health issues, for Professor Patrick McGorry's proposal to Kevin Rudd, the then Prime Minister of Australia. Not long ago, a scheme to privatise the ABC and SBS by the Victorian Liberals got squashed due to GetUp getting involved. The sway GetUp has on public opinion cannot be denied. I'm sure some political parties wish they had such clout.
In addition, they have done all this with less than 20 staff. The power of GetUp is in its members, and running on an open platform. With almost 700,000 members, each one wants to see the issues ignored by politicians brought into the public arena, and they financially help support each campaign.
GetUp survives on donations. And unlike most political parties, they openly declare all donations. They subsist on micro contributions, the average donation being $19.00. Almost all of their money goes on advocacy work and advertising for campaigns.
Their affiliations with groups like Chill Out, Children Out of Detention, MoveOn, Democracy in Action, and services they run such as Community Run, which is about helping to put power in the hands of the people; these things are what helps make GetUp work.
However, with all the great work that GetUp do, it's plain that Australian politicians do not listen. Nine new political parties tried to get into our last federal election, because most traditional politicians seem to have their heads in the sand when it comes to setting policies and acting on issues. The world has changed. Technological and social changes have left most political systems and politician clinging to their old ways. There are many similarities between the current political world and the traditional publishing world.
After a severe clubbing over the head, the traditional publishing world is now seeing and adopting these changes. It is change or die; many of them have seen this. It is time for politicians to come into line with the way people think today. People have to form groups like GetUp because governments do not listen.
GetUp works on policies, not in parties. This is their vision for change, and it succeeds. But they don't have the resources that our governments do, and trying to stay ahead of unthought-out, unconsulted decisions that governments make, is a constant battle.
GetUp starts a campaign with a vision survey of its members. On things which they have voiced concerns, like gender issues, political developments, social and environmental problems, and then they take action based upon the results of the survey. Over 500 GetUp Get Togethers have taken place in Australia and other countries. Through direct and indirect involvement, they change things. Like the 2010 change to the Commonwealth Electoral Act, on the premature closing of the electoral rolls which disenfranchised thousands of Australians.
The Australian political system is broken. It is more than obvious that it's not working when we harm people instead of protecting them. Such as on refugee and asylum seeker concerns, plus Aboriginal issues, two things which GetUp constantly fight for. The Australian government does not listen to its people. Governments are here to work for us. People should decide on things as important as asylum seekers, the environment, and the way taxes are used. Because governments consistently get it wrong.
Governments should be made to take action on these and other issues, the way that GetUp does. Start with a survey, not a statistical measurement like the ABS collect on our "demographics," but on issues we are concerned with. On things that we want to see improved, then, put plans into action to bring about change. The work that GetUp continues to do is something that our governments should fix; we voted our governments in to improve things, not to make things worse.
But, imagine, what it would be like if we didn't have GetUp to fight for all the things our governments neglect.
