It was the most exclusive of events: a glittering $500 minimum per head gala fundraising dinner last week for a right-wing think tank. Tony Abbott, Gina Rinehart and Rupert Mudoch took turns sharing the stage. Andrew Bolt was MC. Tony praised his fellow key-note speakers, especially Rupert, and promised the crowd a "big yes" to many of the think tank's list of 75 policies to radically transform Australia.
So what, exactly, is on this think tank's wish list?
Public broadcasting - gone. The ABC to be broken up and sold off, SBS to be fully privatised.
Corporations to be allowed to make secret payments to political parties.
Medicare gone for most Australians.
A return to WorkChoices, just by another name.
The clean energy fund and the renewable energy target - scrapped.
Funding for sport and arts - including the Australian Institute of Sport - axed. Same for science, with the CSIRO to be privatised.
It goes on. Never before has the extreme conservative agenda been laid out so clearly, but as they get more arrogant and brazen, our movement has the opportunity to do something we can't count on any of the parties to do alone: fight back, effectively.
Click here to become a core supporter of GetUp's people-powered election campaign, and help stop this radical conservative vision of Australia in its tracks.
https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/generous/2013/become-a-core-member
GetUp members can change elections. We've done it before, twice in fact. We know how to do it on tight budgets, with a small team of staff and an amazing community of volunteers. And we know how to do it without compromising our independence and our focus on the issues -- because our passion for a progressive, fair and sustainable Australia is what defines us, not any political party. The more core supporters we can count on to fund our election efforts now and into the incredibly important months ahead, the more empowered we'll be to go big.
Big like in 2010 when we overturned the Orwellian 'Electoral Integrity Act' in the High Court, and allowed 169,000 young Australians the chance to vote.
Through it all, the fundamental truths haven't changed: GetUp is not affliated with any political party. And GetUp members don't need Rupert or Gina's wallet to take coordinated, strategic and effective action. When we all get together and give what we can, it adds up to something more valuable than a few rich donors at a gala dinner.
https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/generous/2013/become-a-core-member
Together, we can target ads that cut through, expose the truth, mobilise a grassroots network that spans every electorate in the country and reclaim our public debate from the extreme minority of voices pushing narrow self-interest at the expense of our country. We know that most Australians, including conservative-leaning voters, don't want to see Medicare wound back, the ABC abolished, help for families scrapped and our environment handed over to Big Mining and run away climate change. Most of us take tremendous pride in Australia's ethos of equality and a fair go -- and believe that fair taxes are the price we pay to live in a civilised, prosperous nation, instead of a third-world Banana Republic.
Fortunately, right-wing think tanks aren't the only ones with an agenda for our future. While their big money donors were busy bidding on the chance to visit Fox news headquarters in America or go behind the scenes of Andrew Bolt's show, ordinary Australians have been gathering in living rooms, cafes, libraries and pubs around the country to talk about what matters to us this election. GetUp members' top priorities are taking shape, and the two visions for our nation couldn't be more different:
Climate change: expand renewable energy, keep a price on carbon and cut massive public subsidies to fossil fuels.
A humane policy on refugees and asylum seekers.
More funding for education and a high quality education system.
A progressive tax system and effective mining tax.
Stopping the expansion of the coal seam gas industry.
Our vision is worth fighting for, and we can change this election, and the platforms all parties stand on, if we try. The last thing we want is to look back and think, 'we could have done more.' Become a core supporter, and join thousands of other Australians refusing to give up, and deciding to GetUp. https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/generous/2013/become-a-core-member
Thank you, always, for all that you do,
The GetUp team
PS: You can read the full text of the think tank's list of policies to "radically reform Australia", verbatim, on our webpage here: https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/generous/2013/become-a-core-member
PPS: Your donationnow will make a huge and lasting difference to the election and beyond. Last election, GetUp members:
Won a High Court case that put 169,000 disenfranchised voters on the roll -- so many new enrolments that in 11 electorates, those voters determined the result.
Raised over 4 million dollars to run national TV and print ads, becoming one of the biggest political media buyers in the country and reclaiming the airwaves from vested interestslike Clubs Australia and the Minerals Council.
Volunteered on the ground in our tens of thousands, speaking directly with our neighbours through doorknocking, local events, and handing out election scorecards.
Helped keep climate action on the agenda, fought for a fair go for aslyum seekers, and won over 2 billion dollars in commitments for mental health care.
[1] Tony Abbott, Address to Institute of Public Affairs 70th Anniversary Dinner, Melbourne. Friday, 5 April 2013 http://www.tonyabbott.com.au/LatestNews/Speeches/tabid/88/articleType/Ar...