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
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.