June 2006
TAKE
ACTION
HOLD OUR PARLIAMENTARIANS TO
ACCOUNT
You can write, email or phone an MP to tell
them about your concerns and urge that they take action.
You can contact the Trade Minister Mark
Vaile directly at:
The Hon Mark Vaile
Minister for Trade
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Fax: 02 6273 4128
Email: Mark.Vaile.MP@aph.gov.au
Or write to your local MP. If you
don’t know the name and contact details of your local MP, you can call the AUstralian
Electoral Commission on 12 23 26 or go to their website (www.aec.gov.au)
and click on the ‘who represents you’ section.
Here are some tips for writing to an MP:
- Keep your letter short (one page if possible) and be clear
about the points you want to make.
- Handwritten letters are more effective than emails.
- Use your own words, rather than someone elses or a pro forma
letter
- Conclude with an ask for a specific action or, if you
don’t know your MP’s position on the issue, ask them a specific question. Tell
the MP that you look forward to their response.
- If you do not receive a reply to your letter, call the
MP’s office and ask for a reply.
- Keep a copy of your letter.
- Identify yourself as living in their constituency, if you
do. Politicians are likely to pay more attention to people who live in their electorate.
START A CONVERSATION & RAISE PUBLIC
DEBATE
Talk to your friends, family and work
colleagues about your concerns. You could hold a meeting in your community to talk about
what you could do together about some aspect of trade justice together. Or you could hold
a public forum on the issue at your workplace, school or community hall. If you want help
organising a local meeting or finding a guest speaker in your area, contact Jemma Bailey
on jbailey@piac.asn.au or 02 8898 6500.
You can also raise public debate by calling
local radio talkback or writing a letter to your local paper. Even better, contact a
journalist at the local paper and ask them to write a story about an aspect of trade
justice or an event you are holding.
This is a good way to raise the issue in
your community and to make politicians take notice.
Here are some tips for writing a letter to
the editor:
- Look for relevant articles or news items and write a letter
to the editor in response. Is the information in the article biased or has the author.
missed an important point? Refer to the article by titile, author and date of publication.
- Keep it short. 200 words is the maximum, 50 words is more
likely to get printed if you have a clear and concise point.
- Stick to one main point and keep language simple.
- Use humour if you can.
Here are some newspapers you can write to:
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