At its official election launch on Thursday, February 10, Election Co-Director Larissa Baldwin will reveal GetUp’s campaign focus in two seats with large First Nations communities, Lingiari and Leichhardt, to ensure candidates of all parties focus on the issues that affect these communities most strongly.
GetUp will join Traditional Owners fighting fracking in the Northern Territory, activists pushing for strong federal cultural heritage protection laws and adequate housing, and remote communities working to get out the vote while keeping themselves safe during the pandemic.
The campaign's key communication strategy is to lift up the voices of people with vision and leadership who are finding solutions in their communities – from Traditional Owners in the NT to the bushfire-devastated communities of the NSW South Coast to the health and aged care workers affected by the COVID pandemic. The people Scott Morrison’s Government is not listening to.
GetUp’s Election Co-Director Larissa Baldwin said:
"The Morrison Government has left people behind. From the bushfires to the pandemic, the Government acted to protect itself and its wealthy donors, and let everyday people down.
"That neglect was felt especially strongly by First Nations people across the country. Remote communities trying to keep COVID out were left to instigate their own lockdowns, with almost no government support. Traditional Owners trying to stop fracking in the Beetaloo Basin are having to battle their own government, which has sided with the giant gas corporations. And nearly two years on from the Juukan Gorge disaster, the Government still refuses to pass laws that would strengthen First Nations cultural heritage protection.
"The pandemic and lockdowns have also made boosting voter enrolment and electoral participation in remote communities more important than ever. GetUp helped defeat the Morrison Government's racist voter ID laws last year, and is working with remote communities this election to ensure First Nations people have their vote counted.
"That's why we've made it a priority to elevate First Nations voices in this election. GetUp is working alongside communities in seats where the First Nations vote can have a real impact on the outcome, like Lingiari and Leichhardt, so that candidates of all parties address the issues that matter to First Nations people – action on climate change, strong federal cultural heritage protection, and addressing economic and social inequality.
"We'll also be working with people across the country who've been left behind by the Morrison Government's neglect and indifference. People on the NSW South Coast are still recovering from 2019 bushfires. Health and aged care workers have received next to no help from the Morrison Government during the COVID pandemic. And communities everywhere need support to adapt to a changing climate.
"From now until election day, we'll be holding the Morrison Government accountable for the people it has abandoned – and working to make sure the next parliament gives those people the respect and support they deserve."
Media contact: Alex McKinnon, 0411 829 334
Spokespeople:
Larissa Baldwin, GetUp Election Co-Director. Larissa is a Widjabul woman from the Bundjalung Nations and GetUp’s First Nations Justice Campaign Director.