HOW WE WIN
The Problem
Our elected officials are meant to represent us. But too often, it’s major industries with deep pockets who are setting the policy agenda in Australia. Corporate influence – when powerful corporations can influence our political system to get outcomes that put their profits before our well-being – is undermining our democracy.
State capture is a messy problem – many of the channels through which corporate power exerts influence over our system are informal and hidden. And there are many powerful interests that will resist change. But there are solutions to the problem of state capture, and if we work together, we can create change.
Check out Jess Harwood’s cartoon ‘What is corporate capture?’
Check out First Dog On the Moon’s cartoon ‘The Truth about State Capture’
Strong laws to protect Democracy
If we change the ground rules so that our system is more fair for everyone, we’ll have better politics, better decisions, better leadership, and better outcomes for all of us.
We know the key laws we have to change, and we’ve written a Framework to tell our elected leaders exactly what we need them to do. Now we need to build the power and momentum we need to make them do it.
A different story
We live in a democracy – where we, the people, are the ones who hold the power.
We choose who gets to represent us in Parliament, and we can decide whether they’ve done a good job of it. The issues we care about are the ones our political leaders need to be focused on.
In our day-to-day lives, many of us feel like we can’t make a difference – the problem is too big, and it’s impossible to change. We need a different story about politics, where we, the people, hold the political power, and our elected leaders represent us.
Politics is not a spectator sport – if we’re not happy with how things are, we can get involved and change it.
A powerful movement
We know that to get the change we need, we need to build a powerful broad-based movement to demand change.
#OurDemocracy has been designed as a framework for you to take action in whichever way works for you: you can get involved as an individual, and we’ll be in touch with opportunities to join with thousands of others at key moments to take simple actions which make our voices heard.
If you’re part of a community group, you could start a local campaign. If you just want to learn more, there are lots of great resources here to get you started.
