Equalityrightsalliance.org.au

Tammy Franks and Dr Catherine Earl - Adelaide
Tammy Franks, Member of Legislative Council of South Australia
Tammy told the "Who controls the butter?" story. Analogy about the US politician who wanted another pat of butter from the waiter. The waiter doesn't know who the politician is, but knows who he is and that he controls the butter. Body Image and Disordered Eating Network was only a few women but very passionate about their agenda and creating cultural change. Partnered with someone who would not be dismissed: the AMA. Found a doctor within AMA who had a personal interest because he was treating women with eating disorders. Timing is important - capitalise on the right issue coming up with the right people at the right time to get it raised to a government level. It's easier to get to politicians when they're in Opposition or they're new, when they're hungry and looking for issues to work with. Also happens with journalists - when they're new to the work area or to your city, they're looking for contacts and issues. Having a minority government means there are lot more people we can talk to, there are more opportunities to raise issues in Parliament because no one party holds all the power. Just inviting people to our events, getting them to hear the power of our stories, is important. Politicians do respond if something touches them. Invite them even if they're not who you would expect to be champions for your cause. Some members of a party might be on your side even if they haven't publicly said so, and they get more awareness of your issue and that you consider them important in resolving it. And you never know who's going to butter your bread in future. The bulk of a politician's job is about getting on the phone and writing letters between Ministers and constituents - here's a problem, here's a solution. But the media only ever focus on adversarial stuff. Politicians work constructively together across party lines more often than we see in media. Remember to thank politicians when they do take action to support your campaign so they will continue to see value in doing so. But never assume you can predict who will become important to your campaign in future, so keep bringing things to the attention of politicians who you might not expect to support your issue. David Nankervis at the Daily Advertiser is "the public defender" and may be more interested in women's issues. Watch and read the media and take note of who's covering stories that relate to your story. You never know who might be interested in your issue - Alan Jones and coal seam gas. Never assume - with politicians or with journalists. People are rude to both politicians and journalists, so be someone who wants to work constructively with them and be nice to them. You need to have a reason to meet with a politician, and don't say no to meeting with an adviser. If you have useful or new information, it's worth getting in contact with them. Dr Catherine Earl – South Australian Council of Social Services
Understanding your campaign partners is important. You might have the same interests at heart, but have a different perspective or different stakeholders. You have to be able to work past your differences to build a strong campaign. Col aboration is important for big campaigns. The more people who jump on board, the stronger your campaign becomes. Research is important, but there are plenty of strong campaigns that don't have the evidence or quality research to back up their campaign. The campaign is won on the narrative, the personal story. We shouldn't always buy into the argument that economics wins the argument. Sometimes very expensive things get funded because it's the right thing to do - the social value outweighs the financial cost despite a lack of supporting evidence. Money can also be wasted this way - ridiculously expensive things that have no evidence to support them. Sometimes they are stories that touch the public consciousness even if they aren't the most deserving of issues. Find the picture, find the audio file. If you are col ecting stories, keep people in mind who are quite happy to talk to the media to add the personal story to the issue you're trying to get into the media. You'l be asked for contacts for a story with very little notice. If you have material for the media, think about who to target it at eg photos from a protest ral y for newspaper or TV, radio will want verbal quotes. If you have a good relationship with a Parliamentarian, you can as a community organisation write them questions to be read. Parliamentarians don't have time to research everything themselves, so they appreciate community groups doing some of it for them. We're not like the Commonwealth Ombudsman in that respect.

Source: http://www.equalityrightsalliance.org.au/sites/equalityrightsalliance.org.au/files/docs/readings/adelaide_guest_speakers.pdf