The Greens believe that everyone, not just politicians, should have a voice. We encourage grassroots movements and community initiatives that are working towards ecological responsibility, social justice, affirmative action and global equity. We encourage our supporters and members to stand up and be heard!
Advocacy and activism are both ways people can create change, raise awareness or increase access to services within organisations, institutions or government. It can be a means of holding governments, institutions and corporations accountable for their policies and actions. If there is an issue you feel passionately about and you’d like to take action, there are plenty of ways to get started – including joining existing advocacy groups that may already have done a lot of the groundwork.
Some of the actions that are available to you as an advocate are listed below.
- individually written letters/emails;
- form letters/emails;
- petitions;
- lobbying;
- submissions to parliament;
- telephone conversations;
- use social media to promote your position;
- meetings with relevant people; and/or
- non-violent demonstrations and protests.
Whether you are joining an existing group or taking action on your own, it’s best to learn about the issue first. Having a good knowledge of the people, dates, events and statistics relating to the issue can help your audience to see that you have knowledge as well as passion. In particular, seek to understand if it is a Federal, State or Local Government issue and who the appropriate Minister or spokesperson is on that issue so that you can target your communications accordingly.
If you are trying to influence a politician, you will need to demonstrate that your idea has widespread support. This can be done by getting other people to join in your advocacy campaign, perhaps by signing a petition, joining a campaign Facebook page, demonstrating and/or writing letters to their local member.