Contact your candidates
Your voice is powerful! Ahead of the election on May 3, contacting your local candidates (by letter, email or making a time to meet) and asking their stance on the current treatment of people seeking asylum in Australia, can make a real difference!
Here are 3 simple steps you can take:
Step (1): Confirm your current electorate
Step (2): Find out who are the Candidates are in your electorate
Step (3): Send a letter or email. Below is a sample letter you may wish to draw upon. It is always a good idea. Remember: attach your letter separately to the body of your email, be clear about your concerns, know that you do not need to know everything about refugee policy, and be clear, emphasise that you would like a response. If you would like to read up a little more about current matters impacting refugees and people seeking asylum click here.
SAMPLE LETTER TO YOUR CANDIDATES
Dear [insert candidate name],
I live in your electorate and I am very concerned about the way people seeking asylum are currently treated in Australia. Before voting on May 3, I would like to know where you stand on the following:
- Ending the uncertainty for people seeking asylum by providing fair and equitable pathways to permanency in Australia.
- Ensuring people seeking asylum have access to work and study rights as well as other public services such as Medicare, housing and financial support.
- Ending offshore detention and processing and ensuring means to quickly re-settle all people in Australia.
- Increasing Australia’s humanitarian intake and expanding the existing community support program which covers most expenses and assists people arriving to integrate within society.
It is very important to me [option: as a Catholic] that all people are treated with dignity and respect no matter where they are from or how they arrived in Australia.
Please reply by letting me know your stance on these four areas, as it will help me determine who I vote for in this election. I can be contacted on [insert contact details]. I am also happy to meet you in person to hear your position on giving refugees and people seeking asylum a fair go.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your contact details]