In August 2005, the Coalition took control of the Senate, giving one party a majority in both houses of Parliament for the first time since 1981.
At the time, John Howard promised to use his Senate majority 'wisely, soberly, and sensibly'. But in the last two years, the Senate has become nothing but a rubber stamp for the Government --
in 2006 our Senate passed 100% of Government-sponsored amendments, while rejecting 98% of amendments proposed by other parties.**
GetUp's roots are closely intertwined with the Coalition's majority takeover of the Senate. We were founded and launched that same month - in August 2005 - by a small group of Australians concerned about holding the Government accountable for how they used their otherwise unbridled control of the Senate. GetUp's
first campaign ever was an ad telling the Government that, even though other parties could no longer hold them accountable in the Senate, we would be watching.
Over the past two years, we have fought together for the Senate to fulfill its rightful role as watchdog over the Government on issues such as
refugees' rights,
industrial relations, and, most recently,
the Northern Territory legislation that was just rammed through.
For the past two years, we’ve tried appealing to reason, we’ve tried pleading restraint. But the truth is that this Senate is not working. We need a new Senate, one that can put the brakes on bad laws like the NT package, and we need your help.
Luckily, in an election year, we have one additional tool in our toolbox to combat abuse of power: democracy. There are 40 Senators up for re-election this year -- 6 in every state and 2 in each territory. The Coalition currently holds 20 of these seats. All it will take for them to lose majority control of the Senate is for progressives to gain back one of those 20 seats.
That's just 11,000 voters changing their mind in the ACT, or a swing of just 3% in Victoria or 5% in South Australia, for the Government to lose their absolute power.
So please help us with our non-partisan campaign for a balanced, independent Senate.
You can donate now to help us get the word out -- we'll be running radio and television ads in targeted areas, and our dedicated volunteers will be distributing placards and letterboxing:
https://www.getup.org.au/saveoursenate/
Second, if you live in one of the marginal Senate states below, click below to learn more about how you can help with your local GetUp Senate campaign:
- ACT
- South Australia
Or, if you live elsewhere, send an email to
national@getup.org.au asking for more information about the Senate campaign and including your name, state, and telephone number.
And remember, all it will take to change the country is one Senate seat.
*Sourced from
http://www.democrats.org.au/campaigns/senate_watch/
August 19th, 2007
I live in WA and the State Labor Government here was the first to pass a law (in 2003) to deny procedural fairness and natural justice to the Swan Valley Nyungah Community (it is actually written into the act - if you don't believe me, look up Reserve 43131 Bill 2003 and read the Parliamentary Inquiry that shows that the Bill was passed without scrutiny of the truth of the rumours that led the Government to rush the Bill through State Parliament.. As a matter of fact, I believe that the Federal Governmnt has been utilising the Western Australian experience against Aboriginal People.
I believe the only Senators who voted against the Federal Bill were the Greens and the Democrats? If that is the case, every Australian, no matter which state they live in, should vote only for those members of parties who voted against Howard's Bill.
Both the Liberals and Labor supported a bill that is nothing but a land grab and a paternalistic bill that sets Aboriginal People back to the l830s.
This is shameful.