Dear lindsay,
7.30 Report: News just broke that big corporations are raising a $26 million election fund to push their neoliberal agenda.1
Why do they need to spend so much money? “GetUp” was the word that fell from the lips of the corporate lobby head on 7.30 Report last night. They’ve seen our movement’s growing power — and they’re scared we could help deliver a more fair and equal society.2
So they’re going into election mode, with plans to blanket the airwaves with ads pushing policies that boost their profits, at everyone else’s expense — starting with the Turnbull Government’s $65 billion corporate tax handout.
They want to imitate us too, with efforts at social media and grassroots campaigning. But they’re about as grassroots as weed killer, which is why we can take them on.
Our movement doesn’t have the Business Council’s cash-cow corporates. What we have is genuine grassroots power, social media savvy and fresh ideas for a fairer economy.
If we can back that with our people-powered fundraising, we can take on the corporate lobby’s false appeal to everyday people. If we can raise just a portion of the Business Council’s $26 million, we can double down on our organising efforts for the next election, and leverage the latest in technology and tactics, to start winning the fight against destructive corporate power.
Can you help build the war-chest that will take on ‘the 1%’ — and chip in now?
This is what 30 years of corporate control over our politics and economy has given us:
• The top 1% now control as much wealth as the bottom 70% of Australians combined.
• Company profits skyrocketed 32% in the last two years, while real wages moved just 0.03%.
• Over 1.8 million Australians are willing and able to work – but either don’t have a job or don’t have enough hours.
• 25.3% of the Australian workforce are trapped in casual jobs, and an entire generation has never known the right to take a paid sick day.
Unless we take on their multi-million dollar campaign, we can expect more of the same.
And how do we take them on? We go head to head — with policies that put everyday people first.
This week, the GetUp movement is launching Future To Fight For, an unapologetically bold vision of an economy that serves everyday people. It features seven fresh solutions for how we can guarantee housing, a decent job, and a stable income to those who need it most.3
This is what our movement is all about — pushing for a fairer, more just society that prioritises everyday people, not profits.
To make the Future to Fight For vision a reality, we’re going to have to square off against the richest and most powerful people in the world. And the upcoming election will be our first test.
Chip in now and together we’ll build the people’s war-chest for the upcoming election campaign.
An election could be only a few months away, and if we’re going head to head with the Business Council, it’s time to get prepared. Here’s what we can put our own election war-chest towards:
1. Putting a powerful, independent voice into the upcoming election campaign, with cutting-edge tools and tactics. This means scaling up our election infrastructure now, so we have the tools to make millions of calls to voters across the country. It means hiring teams of local campaigners, to power organising efforts in critical seats this election. And it means locking in strategic ad buys early, before they’re snapped up by the Business Council and other big spenders.
2. Putting policies for a fairer economy on the agenda, with The Future To Fight For vision. The Future To Fight For vision launches to media and GetUp members this week. But with extra cash, we can begin outreach in communities that are most affected by unemployment, poverty, housing shortages and cost of living pressures. We’ll kick off a series of events and creative products to bring these ideas to life — including a podcast and a speaking tour with expert economists.
Chip in now — together, we’ll show the Business Council what we’re made of, and take on the 1%: https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/federal-election-2018/taking-on-the-bca/the-bca-wants-a-fight-let-s-give-them-one?t=52W8M1u0wR&utm_campaign=7_30_Report__Big_business_raising__26_mil_to_take_on_GetUp&utm_content=25079&utm_medium=email&utm_source=blast
Right around the world, this conversation is beginning to take place. You can see it in the energy behind Bernie Sanders in the US and Jeremy Corbyn in the UK. And if we double-down, we can kick it off here in Australia.
Thanks for all that you do,
Paul, for the GetUp team
References:
[1] Business Council of Australia to ramp up role in politics, ABC news, 1 May 2018
[2] A snip at $22m to get rid of PM, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 February 2011
[3] GetUp! releases “unapologetically ambitious” vision for the economy, ABC News, 30 April 2018
Paul Oosting, GetUp
