GetUp!

Sharing their stories of living with detention debt

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +1000

On Thursday, thanks to the contributions of GetUp members, a delegation of refugees went to Canberra to meet with politicians and share their experiences of living under the heavy burden of detention debt - watch the video below to see what happened on the day and hear Masoud Shams and Ibrahim Isrith's stories.

The delegation met with Senators Troeth, Trood and Birmingham and Russel Broadbent MP, from the Liberal Party as well as Senator Hanson Young of the Greens and the Minister for Immigration, Senator Chris Evans.
A busy last day of Senate proceedings meant that the Migration Ammendment Bill to remove detention debt was unfortunately delayed until the next sitting date in August. However when the Bill comes to a vote in August, the Senators we met with have committed to ensuring it passes, so that hundreds of people like Masoud and Ibrahim will be free of detention debt.
Thanks to your efforts, and the tireless campaigning of refugee activists and organisations across Australia, we hope to lay this shameful policy to rest next time Parliament sits and see many lives change as a result.
Support for this campaign has been so overwhelming; we'll continue to use the funds raised to ensure we continue to provide a voice to refugees, whom politicians rarely have the opportunity to meet face-to-face. Further important legislation is due to come through the Parliament and its passage will require a renewed effort from all of us - we look forward to working with you to make it happen.
As Masoud said in a text message to us at the end of last Thursday "Thank you so much for supporting us and giving us a voice after 5 years of waiting. GetUp is gold. We had a very satisfying day. Masoud and Evelyn."
Thanks for all that you do.

What's it like at a GetTogether?

Thu, 28 May 2009 11:00:00 +1000

Sign up now to host or attend an Our Rights GetTogether!
GetTogethers can be an amazing, insightful way to come face-to-face with other GetUp members and most importantly create change from the grassroots up with others in your local community. If you've never attended or hosted a GetTogether before you might be unsure as to what to expect. Below is some feedback from a GetUp member who hosted one of our Vision GetTogethers in 2008.
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The GetTogether was the weirdest experience. But nice. Both novel and inspiring - there I was, a bit over-stretched and reluctantly dragooned into hosting a GetTogether for GetUp, whatever that meant. I hadn’t had to do much. I just clicked the ‘volunteer’ type button supplied in their website and gave my address. Not too difficult. Then lo and behold, within 24 hours my 16 allocated places had all been taken. 16 people I didn’t know had said they would come and join the GetTogether at my house. All I knew was their names. That felt odd. A few had emailed to ask about bringing food and drinks, and another for instructions on getting there by public transport, but mainly there was absolutely nothing but a name. I decided to get a friend to join me. She was meant to be having dinner with her mother-in-law so they both came. For moral support. In case. (In the event both she and the mother-in-law came… offering excellent moral support with the drinks, the minutes and a post-meeting discussion!)
There were a few cancellations, sick children or spouses or some just couldn’t make it… and the person who had been going to join us by bus from work in Tuggeranong missed his connection so had to cancel on the night.
It was just odd waiting for these total strangers to arrive and as people started to knock and enter it was positively freaky having these names take shape. The digital identity taking human form. I suppose that nexus is starting to be more common – internet dating happens, after all, but I imagine the lead in is probably more targeted, with a bit more background information supplied… whereas there was no indication about anything with these people.
What happened was that as people arrived and became a palpable identity the fear of the anarchic hordes who operate on the internet was entirely dispelled, and this amazingly broad cross-section of Australians who are concerned at the direction Australia is taking was revealed. I felt as if we could have been a TV ad showing how caring and concerned Australians of all ages and types are.
Twelve of us. Such a beautiful array of different people/backgrounds. There was the 82 year old retired Uniting Church Minister and his ageing wife … she didn’t like computers but was there as the driver and she was as passionate as anyone regarding the issues needing addressing in Canberra and beyond… There was the 19 year old who had recently left his apprenticeship to do tertiary study because he’s always been fascinated by politics… The professional woman who had recently moved to Canberra to run a local theatre company… she was beautiful and beautifully attired, with a good feel for how to get people’s attentions to focus on the relevant issues. The retired school counselor and her sign-writer husband, both of whom have become members of the Greens but agreed with the meeting’s desire to educate people regarding the non party-political nature of GetUp. (Undoubtedly many political parties would sympathise or endorse the issues which have been taken up by GetUp, and many of those political parties would currently be in Opposition, but many members of the Coalition would also sympathise with issues taken up by GetUp -- in fact Malcolm Fraser could be typecast as its ideal patron!)
All of which goes to illustrate the next amazing thing. Here we were. This bunch of strangers who had nothing in common but a concern for the direction Australia (and the world) is taking. (And maybe we live close-ish to each other, and many of us are likely to be competent computer users, but this doesn’t seem much to go on). The amazing thing is that we were able to discuss passionate issues constructively and courteously and come to agreements so effectively. As we talked there were common strands in people’s interests, obviously reflecting issues GetUp have taken up. Concerns for refugees, for indigenous Australians. A feeling that we must do everything we can to care for our planet and that our Governments should be leading the way on this. A desire to avoid the disenfranchisement of any Australian, particularly the young (and in my case particularly the prisoners). A sense that the Iraq war is and was all wrong… An eclectic range but just so refreshing and inspiring to find a group of strangers who also care.
We decided to focus particularly on the abysmal nature of public transport in Canberra with its consequent negative impact on the environment, and the issue of disenfranchisement – this seems to be occurring in Australia in a number of ways and we were focusing on the new laws passed (without adequate scrutiny by an effective Senate) closing the rolls so soon after an election is called (the question of whether the AEC is effectively targeting the young was one of the issues to be researched/explored). The other sense of disenfranchisement we have is with respect to the failure of Australian politicians to adequately address climate change when it is of such widespread concern. Various actions around these themes were devised by the meeting and have been committed to by group members.
I have been a member of many NGO’s over many years and I swear I have never been, with so little trouble, part of creating a 12 person group whose members have committed themselves to on-going participation… particularly when the group has that challenging focus of being action oriented – when it’s about stirring ourselves and prodding ourselves to take actions and promote causes of social justice (and we were able to start this constructive process so effectively at our first meeting – I think it was seven concrete actions about to be undertaken by members of the group). It’s amazing. An organic process managed by the people, with help from technology. For me personally it really was no hassle. All I had to do was click the button, wait for a bit and then buy biscuits and open my door.*
*Well OK to be entirely truthful I also had to download the audio file, turn on my computer speakers, answer a few emails, a phone call and print out some materials. Still not very onerous.
Sign up now to host or attend an Our Rights GetTogether on June 11th!

Paid parental leave: we can't afford to delay

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:15:00 +1000

The Government has taken a step back from its commitment to introduce paid parental leave in Australia. As the economy slowed, they put the word out that we cannot afford a paid parental leave scheme in the 2009 budget.
The Australia Institute, for one, isn’t buying it. Their paper Long Overdue: The Macroeconomic Benefits of Paid Parental Leave (released today) indicates that the scheme is a highly efficient and effective way of stimulating the economy right across the country, and will create around 8,900 new jobs. The research also shows that the scheme is far cheaper than early predictions suggested - while the original costing of the scheme was around $450 million per year, the extra taxes generated by the creation of new jobs would put the scheme's net cost at just $225 million per year. Australia Institute senior research fellow David Richardson also said that the scheme will encourage women’s participation in the labour market, boosting GDP by 2.5 billion and Government revenue by $625 million. The results of this research tend to suggest that we can’t afford not to introduce a paid parental leave scheme now.
This latest research complements that of the Productivity Commission, which was asked by the Government to undertake a public inquiry into paid parental leave. The Commission found the health and wellbeing of parents and children necessitates at least a six-month period of parental leave, and that a paid leave scheme would cause huge gains in productivity by promoting greater workforce participation.
If the Government persists with the argument that a scheme is unaffordable in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, it may be because some within Government calculate that the community is too disoriented by the global financial crisis to question their assumptions. They know that the sacrifice of the scheme will be politically useful in the inevitable post-budget fire-fight, providing a ready example of their ability to make those ‘tough decisions’ they are always talking about.
It is up to the community – armed with conclusive evidence that a scheme is good for babies, good for parents and good for the economy – to show the Government that we are not convinced by the rhetoric, and to let them know that it isn’t good enough to say ‘maybe next year’. We are one of only two OECD countries to be without a comprehensive paid parental leave scheme, and we have waited long enough.

What does a Human Rights Consultation look like?

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:00:00 +1100

Over the next couple of months the Human Rights Consultations will be traveling all around Australia, giving you the opportunity to have your say on Human Rights. With the sessions already held in a number of locations, all attracting unexpectedly high interest (especially from GetUp members!), we'd like to give people thinking about attending an idea of what to expect. Check out this video we put together after the Sydney session:

Keen GetUp members packed out the Human Rights Consultations held in Sydney. The participants spoke passionately about the human rights issues important to them - from rights of Indigenous Australians, the elderly, children in detention, and people with disabilities, to the right to trial by jury, the right to life and the right to access the internet.
The Consultation was full of people from different walks of life who cared about Human Rights. They weren't experts but ordinary Australians letting the Committee know loud and clear that they want a formalised protection of Human Rights in Australia.
If you are one of the 450 GetUp members that had to be turned away because of the large and enthusiastic turnout, the organisers are considering providing bigger venues, and may hold more sessions in Sydney - stay tuned and we'll let you know what's happening.
Thanks to all who have attended a Consultation session so far, your participation is part of a positive step towards establishing a Human Rights Act in Australia.
Want to attend a session? Check out when the Human Rights Consultations will be coming to you.
If you can't make it to a session, you can still have your say. Make a submission to the Inquiry through our website.

Mums deliver 43,000 strong message on Paid Parental Leave

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:00:00 +1100

Leading the charge on government paid parental leave, two passionate GetUp mums delivered your petition to the Government last Thursday. Rebecca and Marka (and their camera-charming kids!) handed the Minister for Families, Jenny Macklin, over 43,000 signatures demanding action on Paid Parental Leave.
In front of a full press conference, Rebecca and Marka spoke about raising their kids without a government PPL scheme. Marka, a casual teacher, had no access to maternity leave, and depended entirely on her husband's income for support. And although when Rebecca had her son - Thomas - she had access to maternity through her employer, she said she would not have had a kid if she didn't have access.
Thanks to their personal stories, the press conference was a great success and got coverage in a number of papers. Despite this, and wide community support, Macklin remains tight-lipped on whether the government will deliver on their promise of PPL in the next budget.

After the press conference, GetUp families upped the pressure. A large group of new parents, grandparents, and parents-to-be took their passion to question time, many heading to the viewing gallery with their new babies in arms. Families were so determined to show their support for PPL that the viewing gallery completely filled up - it was impossible for the Government to ignore the real people behind the community push. For those who didn't make it inside, this wasn't the end - people literally lined the halls of parliament to help make it known that government paid parental leave is long overdue.

Congratulations and thank you to all who came along to successful action - your presence sent a strong message to the Government! We will continue to work hard, upping the pressure on politicians, to ensure that the Goverment finally delivers on Paid Parental Leave.
If you haven't signed the petition yet - sign it here!
If you want to see coverage of the action, click here.

Ban on Foreign Aid for Abortion Services Has Been Lifted

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:00:00 +1100

Yesterday Foreign Minister Stephen Smith made an announcement lifting the ban on Australian foreign aid spending on abortion services and related advice.
The Foreign Minister’s announcement – that the Government will support the same range of family planning services for women in developing countries as are supported here in Australia – is to be applauded. The suffering caused by the political compromises and procrastinations of successive Australian governments cannot be undone, but by lifting the ban on funding for abortion services, and committing to providing an additional $15 million over four years for family planning and reproductive health activities to help reduce maternal deaths, the Government has eliminated one of the most short-sighted and inhumane policies of contemporary Australia.

Your Questions for Joe Trippi & Simon Sheikh

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:00:00 +1100

***This event took place on Thursday 26th February 2009***
This Thursday, GetUp will host US political guru, Joe Trippi, for a talk and forum in Sydney. Joe will be joined for Q&A by GetUp's National Director Simon Sheikh.
Tickets are available here.
If you can't be there, post your questions for Joe and Simon below and we'll choose some of the best to ask on the night.
We'll also be webcasting the whole event live on Thursday night, so return to this page at 7pm (Sydney time) for details of the live stream.

Getup Stream of the Joe Trippi Event

One year on from 'sorry'

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:00:00 +1100

In February 2008, GetUp members donated to get Elders from the Kimberley to Canberra to watch the Government's Apology to the Stolen Generations.
Thanks to overwhelming support a ‘GetUp Reconciliation Fund’ emerged, allowing GetUp to continue campaigning on a wide range of Indigenous issues. GetUp was also able to actively take part in Reconciliation closer to home, by employing two new Indigenous interns within our own office, aiming to create a reciprocal learning relationship and foster young Indigenous campaigners with the wider community.
Find out more about GetUp's Indigenous Campaigns Assistants, Kaleesha and Oli, below.
Kaleesha Morris
Kaleesha Morris is an Aboriginal and Torres-Strait Islander woman, of the Gumbaynggirr Nation, and an inspiring young Indigenous role model who is passionate about empowerment from within the Indigenous community, whilst also studying an Arts Law degree at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
“As a descendant of oppressed generations who were not allowed freedom of speech I am honored to be able to exercise it, and GetUp provides me with an avenue to effectively do so.
I eagerly applied to work with the GetUp team because I had heard of the great campaigns that they’d run and felt that by joining them, I could offer valuable insight of a young Indigenous perspective on issues and gain great skills and experience, both of which I hope I will be able to utilise when giving back to my people, and in helping to overcome Indigenous disadvantage, particularly in the social justice arena, hence my studies in law.
In the time that I’ve been working with GetUp, I’ve had the opportunity to be productively involved in some great campaigns, one in particular that of GetUp's ‘Roll Back Not Roll Out’ campaign, and I am currently undertaking research on how to foster more young Indigenous leaders like myself into becoming actively involved within Indigenous affairs and also, the wider Australian community.
I’ve also been able to meet some very inspiring people and furthermore, build on those connections to establish networks.
Whilst working on Indigenous campaigns, working with GetUp has proved to be a great learning experience, has provided invaluable opportunities and has and will, further equip me with the skills and knowledge to productively help my people overcome indigenous disadvantage.
I am deeply grateful and thank you for donations towards the Reconciliation Fund, I am now able to work with GetUp, to learn from them and to also draw on my experiences to assist them with Indigenous campaigns. My experience with GetUp so far has been nothing short of amazing, and I’m excited to be both part of the GetUp team and part of the GetUp movement which instrumentally helps, and will continue to help and empower Indigenous people."

Oli Costello
Oli Costello is a proud Bundjalung man born in Byron Bay on the North Coast of NSW. Oli is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts in Adult Education and Community Management at the University of Technology Sydney with the aim of transforming knowledge into action.
“I have a strong sense of pride and responsibility as an Aboriginal person to both the communities and environments of Australia and the world - I am determined to participate in the journey to overcome the many challenges we all face as community members.
I am a proud Bundjalung man born in Byron Bay on the North Coast of NSW. I grew up around Lismore and when I finished High school I moved to the Blue Mountains, near Sydney, with my family. This was difficult at first as I didn't know anyone, but over the last 9 years I have developed a strong connection with the land and community. I have recently developed great new relationships through studying the BA in Adult Education and Community Management at the University of Technology Sydney and working at GetUp.
I feel fortunate to have been appointed as an intern at GetUp as they make important contributions to a variety of issues to which I can now contribute. In my role at Get Up I am supported by committed staff which work tirelessly under the direction of you - the members - in the quest to build the type of progressive democracies and communities I believe all Australians deserve.
I believe that working with GetUp can only be beneficial in the further development of my integrity and character which I feel is necessary to affect real change."

YOUR CAMPAIGN PRIORITIES FOR 2009

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:00:00 +1100

Each year we ask GetUp members to rate the top campaigning priorities for the year.
While we need to adapt quickly to stay relevant to breaking news and political developments, these priorities frame the agenda for the year and allow us to start planning our campaigns. Here's how you rated the issues:

#	Goal	extre imp.	very imp.	imp.	not imp.	undc	opp. act.
1	Increasing renewable energy funding	70.9	22.2	5.6	2.3	0.9	0.2
2	Better management of water resources	69.0	24.5	5.7	0.4	0.3	0.1
3	Advancing Indigenous equity	48.9	31.5	14.8	2.9	0.9	1.0
4	Improving public transport	48.4	35.7	13.9	1.5	0.3	0.1
5	Improving carbon emissions trading	45.7	31.2	14.6	2.9	2.9	2.7
6	A socially equitable response to the Global Financial Crisis	41.3	38.8	13.6	2.0	0.9	0.2
7	Protecting Australians' rights through a Human Rights Act	37.1	31.0	21.7	5.3	3.0	1.9
8	Combatting youth homelessness	33.2	40.7	22.6	2.3	0.9	0.2
9	Protecting workers' rights (i.e. industrial relations)	29.3	42.3	24.0	3.0	0.7	0.6
10	Combatting internet censorship	29.1	28.7	27.4	8.4	3.7	2.7
11	Legislating to allow same-sex marriage	17.7	24.7	32.9	14.5	3.4	6.9
12	Investing in paid parental leave	13.8	28.8	38.1	12.4	3.1	3.8

extre imp = extremely important very imp. = very important imp. = important not imp. = not important undc = undecided opp. act. = oppose action

Please note: This is a limited range of issues and some central themes (like healthcare) were omitted.
Thousands of GetUp members also suggested their own campaign ideas for 2009. Here are a handful of the most popular and innovative: what do you think?

"Stop banks placing undue pressure on families struggling to meet mortgages"
"Axe the baby bonus - it encourages overpopulation. Replace it with early childcare education"
"Legalisation of euthanasia"
"Federal takeover of all hospitals as the State Governments clearly can't manage them"
"Review the electoral system - after 100 years there are plenty of adjustments neccessary"
"Growing rate of obesity and diabetes"
"Increase the age-pension"
"Abolish state governments"
"We need a debate (and referendum?) on Corporal Punishment. Let the people decide!

HOW SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT RESPOND TO THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS?

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:00:00 +1100

The hot debate over the Government's stimulus package this week is an example of the opportunities the issue creates for campaigners: cross-bench Senators Nick Xenophon, Steve Fielding and the Greens are in a key balance of power posittion to amend, pass or block the $42bn stimulus package.

With tough times ahead and Government spending at unprecedented levels, you've told us that the progressive community has an opportunity to stand up for economic fairness and investment in a renewable energy future.

We asked GetUp members "Do you have any thoughts on how the Australian Government should respond to the global financial crisis?". Here are a handful of replies:

"Pork-barreling is a big temptation when there's a government spending binge. Government should be extremely careful to spend the money in ways that will serve Australia's economic interests not just electoral or political interests."
"Any stimulus package should have direct environmental and social benefits, not just encourage spending on consumables. It should be adding to the incentive packages for renewable energy and retrofitting inefficient houses; for public transport infrastructure/redesign of urban planning, particularly for the 'urban sprawl' residents; resources and programs for the disadvantaged."
"Have a complete re-think of the current economic model/mindset we use. We have to reverse our consume-spend-produce trend. Expecting constant and regular growth is unrealistic. Continuing to stimulate an economy through consuming is counter productive to all climate change/environmental strategies."
"With a big GREEN stimulus package like Obama is undertaking in the US. It is the perfect opportunity to put some money into renewable energy and greening buildings etc"
"...I think we need to be careful about the concept of workers rights. I think no worker has the right to insist on working in an industry that will do countless damage to our environment and future generations. We need to get beyond the simple discussion and build new industries."