What steps will your local candidates take for Tibet?

Help ATC’s 2010 Federal Election Campaign by contacting your local candidates to ask their position on Tibet and what they’d be willing to do if elected.

Step 1: Find your candidates
Step 2: Cut and paste our pre-prepared email
Step 3: Forward replies to ATC’s National Office


Step 1: Find your candidates
If you already know your electorate, go straight to the Australian Electoral Commission’s (AEC) “Who are the candidates?” list and scroll down to find your electorate. Clicking on the name will bring up a list of candidates and their contact details.

If you don’t know which electorate you are in, head to the AEC’s Federal Electorate eSearch. Type in either your suburb or postcode and you will be told the name of your electorate. Once know your electorate follow the instructions above.

Some Frequently Asked Questions:

There are so many candidates. Whom should I contact? In most electorates there will be many candidates but no more than a couple of serious contenders. We suggest focusing your efforts on those candidates with a real chance of being elected. Most contests are between the Labor and Liberal candidates, though there are also many seats in the which the Greens, other smaller parties and independent candidates are in the race. If you’d like to learn a little more about the candidates and their chances, you can check the ABC’s online election guide

Should I contact my candidates for the House of Representatives, the Senate or both? Following the above procedure will bring up a list of candidates for both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The 150 members of the House of Representative (or Lower House) are chosen by electorate, with one member for each. The 76 Senators are chosen by State (or Territory): 12 for each state and 2 each for the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory. Senators are elected for six-year terms, with half the Senate facing re-election at a General Election.
If you have time, it is worth contacting the candidates for both houses. If you have only a couple of minutes to spare, we suggest focusing on the House of Representatives (Lower House).

Step 2: Send your emails
Once you have identified the key candidates to whom you’re going to write, send each an email. You can use either the pre-prepared text below or send them a message of your own.

Dear —-

I am writing to you as a voter in the seat of —-.

One of my key concerns this election is the future of the Australia-China relationship and, more specifically, the role Australia can play in ensuring human rights and justice for the Tibetan people.

I am among over 15,000 members and supporters of the Australia Tibet Council and among the many more Australians who, while recognizing the importance of the Australia-China economic relationship, believe firmly that we can still play a constructive role in promoting a peaceful resolution for Tibet.

I would like to enquire about your position on Tibet and how you think the Australian Government can best promote progress towards a peaceful resolution. More specifically, I would like to enquire whether you would be willing to take any of the following actions if elected:

1. Raise Tibet issues when opportunities arise, such as in parliamentary debates, committees, or during visits of Chinese delegations
2. Meet with Tibetans and Tibet supporters in your constituency
3. Meet with the Dalai Lama when he is in Australia
4. Join the Australian All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet
5. Express publicly your concern over human rights in Tibet and support the Middle Way policy for a peacefully negotiated resolution

By China’s own admission, few factors are more important to its long-term stability and prosperity than Tibet. With the security and human rights situation in Tibet continuing to deteriorate, support for a peaceful resolution can be in Australia’s national interest.

I send you my best wishes for the hectic weeks ahead and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Remember! Candidates receive a far greater quantity of emails than letters, so if you want a better chance of grabbing their attention you may wish to put your message in a letter instead. Most candidates have provided a postal address at “Who are the candidates?” as well as their email.

Step 3: Send us your response
This will help us identify potential allies in the new parliament and may affect the advice we provide to our members in the days before the election.

What Will Happen Next
You may already have seen our special guide “The 2010 Federal Election and Tibet”, published shortly before the election was called.

On Wednesday 18 August, three days before polling, ATC will publish the results of all research and inquiries conducted by individual members and ATC staff during the course of the campaign.

We will not be telling you how to vote. But we hope to provide our members with the best possible information with which to make an informed decision on how their vote may affect Australian Government action on Tibet in the years to come.