Contact your politician
Visiting your local MP is by far the most powerful and significant way of letting them know that poverty matters to you. It is a very effective way to share ideas about poverty and we aim to be positive and prayerful in presenting our ideas.
What to Say
Micah Challenge and Make Poverty History are calling for five basic actions:
- Increase aid to 0.5% by 2010 to meet our fair contribution to halving global poverty by 2015. It is not just the amount of aid but also how it is spent - aid needs to be soent on poverty reduction for the poorest communities.
- Cancel debt for the poorest nations which have a burden of debt which wil prevent them from reaching the Millenium Development Goals.
- Promote fair trade rules and other international rules so that poor countries can compete in world markets and have access to development funding.
- Help poor countries keep their governments accountable
- Tackle climate change in developing countries
For more details on poverty and what we are asking our government to do, see the How to Visit a Politician guide.
Click here for a briefing sheet to use when visiting your politician. The briefing sheet outlines the lobbying focus for Make Poverty History and Micah Challenge for 2008.
Give your MP a gift
A good way of approaching your visit to your local MP is to take a gift - we have put together ideas for a gift basket based on the 8 Millennium Development Goals.
Tell us about your visit to your MP
Please tell us about your visit by completing the Response Form. Any insights at all would be useful.
We use the information you provide to build a picture of who has been visited and the issues MPs want to discuss. This helps us to provide useful information to politicians during Voices for Justice.
Fax to 02 9452 4720 or post to Micah Challenge, Locked Bag 122 Frenchs Forest NSW 2086
Letter Writing Guide
Writing to your MP is another way you can speak up for justice. The more letters politicians receive, the more likely they are to follow through on their Millennium Development Goal promises.
The new Parliament is now in session. We ask you to take time to write to your MP (if you're not sure who or you want to find an address - see www.aec.gov.au or www.aph.gov.au)
Health issues relating to Goals 4 and 5 of the Millennium Development Goals are a big part of the campaign this year. Please take 10 mins to write to your MP encouraging them in their new role/ re-election and asking them to note the huge possibilities for progress on child and maternal health.
For the latest detailed letter-writing guide (February 2008), click here
To see a flier about this aspect of the campaign, click here
To order fliers, please email info@micahchallenge.org.au
If you do choose to write to your local MP, be sure to let us know about it by sending us a copy of your letter. That way we can track the various actions in each electorate.
Offering of Letters
Churches across Australia can make an offering of letters to God - just as we offer our money and our time, we can offer letters that we write to federal Members of Parliament about poverty and injustice. Find out more here.