Lee Davis-ThalbourneSo, there's been a few calls from people in the #RaiseTheRate camp to start calling your MPs, to try and pressure the Government to increase Jobseeker. For many of us this can be a bit scary, so I thought I'd give people a script to follow when calling your MP's office. [THREAD]
Most MPs have their office contact number available online, which will go to one of their staff. Your call just needs to do three things: identify yourself as a constituent, record your support, and express a desire for your MP & their party (if any) to take action. #RaiseTheRate
A simple script is "Hello, my Name is [Name], I'm a [Suburb/Town] resident within [Electorate] Electorate, I'd like to formally record my support for raising Jobseeker to a livable rate. Can I ask [MP]'s stance regarding this issue?" #RaiseTheRate
If they're a supporting Green/Independent, you can probably leave it there - Thank them for their support and hang up.
If they state that your MP is for raising the rate and they're Labor/Coalition, you can then continue "I'm glad to hear that. Will [MP] be making that clear to their party when debating this issue in the caucus/party room?" #RaiseTheRate
If they don't support a rate rise, or aren't willing to take action (or haven't made up their mind), politely express your disappointment, state that the current rate directly adversely impacts you and/or your family and friends, politely ask that the MP reconsider their view, then hang up. #RaiseTheRate
Because you're almost certainly dealing with a staff member, this isn't the time to debate the point - just clearly express your desires and then end the call. Quick, simple, easy, for a grand total of about two minutes of work. #RaiseTheRate
Phone calls can be good because you don't have to worry about waiting to reply back - you already have your response, and the whole call will generally take less than a minute or two, as opposed to letters/emails which can take some time to both send and respond to. #RaiseTheRate
This is also a good script for calling Senators as well, which is likely to be just as useful in this fight. Senators also have offices, whose number is publicly available, so give that a shot too if you're up to it! #RaiseTheRate
If your MP/Senator is Labor, obviously this is most likely to have an impact, but even if you have a Coalition MP, I'd still recommend doing this - it can still have an impact if they get a *lot* of people in their electorate engaging on the issue. #RaiseTheRate
The point of doing this is to make it clear in every MP's mind that this is an issue that their electorate cares about. It may not change their mind, but it *might* make them think twice about actively fighting against raising the rate. #RaiseTheRate
rood@passerkirbius with the huge support Prick Willsin has in this electorate I doubt I would do anything other than open myself to getting known to a group of fascists and petty land tyrants.