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Home — Uniting a Caring Australia — Meet with your local MP

Meet with your local MP

Meet with your local MP to advocate for better policy

Write to your local Member of Parliament to tell them what you think and ask for a meeting.

STEP 1

Find contact details for your local Member of Parliament

Head to this site and search for your local Member.

Grab their email address to send an email OR their Electorate Office address to send a letter.

STEP 2

Pick your topic

We are asking you to contact your local Member about any or all the following:

  1. A National Inquiry into the causes of wage stagnation,
  2. Increasing wages in aged care, and
  3. Paying superannuation on top of Parental Leave Pay.

STEP 3

Draft your message

Below we have provided a template for you to get your thinking started but in practice the most effective communication with your local Member will always be personal. The template below outlines why we think each of these proposals are important, we strongly encourage you to add why you think these proposals are important.

Numbers and policy briefs are important to win minds, but it is always sharing experiences that wins hearts.

You might want to tell your MP about an aged care worker who went above and beyond in the care of someone you love. Alternatively, you might have visited an aged care facility that couldn’t deliver the care its residents deserved because of staffing issues.

Personal stories also help Parliamentarians grasp the broader story. If you have struggled to meet the costs of day to day life, or if you know someone who has, telling your local Member about it will make them a better representative for you and your community.

You might want to tell your MP about an aged care worker who went above and beyond in the care of someone you love. Alternatively, you might have visited an aged care facility that couldn’t deliver the care its residents deserved because of staffing issues.

Personal stories also help Parliamentarians grasp the broader story. If you have struggled to meet the costs of day to day life, or if you know someone who has, telling your local Member about it will make them a better representative for you and your community.

 

View Template

STEP 4

Add some local data

An optional step is to include some local data to help tell the story.

In the template, the segments coloured in red are opportunities to add data about your electorate.

You can find the data for your electorate in the table below, just find your electorate in the list. (You can search your electorate here.)

 

Download local data table

STEP 5

Ask for a meeting

Choose a time and ask for a meeting!

STEP 6

Hit send!

STEP 7

Meet and discuss

It will be helpful to have a plan of what you would like to talk about before meeting your MP. This doesn’t need to be pages of detail, just a few key points you would like to mention during the discussion.

  • What is the policy?
  • Why is it important?

RESOURCES

*Template letter/email*

 

Dear Name MP,

I/We are writing about the kinds of policies we want to see from you in the lead up to the next election. Specifically, I/we would like to see you throw your support behind [a National Inquiry into the causes of wage stagnation, increasing wages in aged care by 25 per cent and paying superannuation on top of Parental Leave Pay].

National Stagnant Incomes Inquiry

Wages across the whole country have been too low for too long. All while important expenses, especially housing, get more and more costly every year. In [Insert electorate name] average pay would be $[XXX] higher every fortnight if wages had grown in the past ten years like they did in the decade prior. JobSeeker is also too low. It is so low that is having a negative impact on wage growth! This should be one of the things the Inquiry looks into.

Increasing wages in aged care by 25 per cent

Our laws need to reflect the contribution that caring responsibilities make to our country including economic contributions. Aged care workers are among the worst paid groups in our country, they make a tiny amount above minimum wage and they have an incredibly difficult job. It is no wonder that they are having so much trouble getting enough people to do the job.

There are [XXX] people over the age of 55 in [Insert electorate name]. Most of these people will rely on aged care workers in the coming years, if they don’t already. We cannot afford to keep paying these workers just $21 an hour.

Paying superannuation on top of Parental Leave Pay

Our laws need to reflect the contribution that caring responsibilities make to our country including economic contributions. I/We was/were shocked to learn that even though the government compels people to make superannuation payments on the individual’s salary, the government doesn’t pay superannuation contributions on its Parental Leave Payment.

We have [XXX] female voters between the age of 20 and 44 in [Insert electorate name], lots of these women will be looking to use the governments Parental Leave Pay in the coming years. Even more women have used the payment and will remember the absence of superannuation which is a fundamental entitlement.

One of the reasons I personally think you should be considering this issue is…. Include a personal story about one of the policies?

I/We urge you to put the people of our community first and support this/these essential change/changes. I/We would be grateful for an opportunity to discuss this issue with you, particularly how we can work together to implement this change. In the first instance I/we suggest sometime in the week beginning DD Month. I/We are happy to come into your office if this is the most convenient option for you.

Best regards,

FIRST LAST NAME

Organisation (if relevant)

Address (optional)

Note: if you are comfortable including your address this will increase the impact of your letter

 

Download local data table