Kicking off the final day of its week-long blitz to block the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill 2017, GetUp welcomed the Labor Party’s announcement it would not support a bill that silences charities and not-for-profits.
As part of the blitz, GetUp members this week contacted Labor MPs over 40,000 times and will today meet with 34 MPs and hand-deliver 2,500 constituent letters calling for an end to the bill.
GetUp National Director Paul Oosting said the organisation would now shift its campaign focus onto the Government and the cross-bench to ensure the dangerous “charity gag” bill is not passed into law.
“The Turnbull Government’s plan to silence charities and community groups is an unprecedented attack on our democracy, so we have mounted an unprecedented campaign in return,” Mr Oosting said.
“Over the course of just one week, GetUp members made contact with Labor MPs over 40,000 times – postal letters, emails, phone calls and even faxes – all calling for the Opposition to stand up to this dangerous legislation.
“It’s encouraging to hear Labor will not support legislation that punishes Australian charities and not-for-profits.
“Ordinary Australians have shown they’re ready to fight for our democracy. Any representative who supports Turnbull’s undemocratic charity gag bill is going to have to answer to the people they seek to disempower.
“We will continue to fight this dangerous law, which would result in fewer people being afforded a voice in public debate, less ability for civil society to advocate for the values millions of Australians care deeply about, and a greatly reduced contest of ideas.”