I am concerned with climate issues for a few years now and was involved with a citizen climate lobby before joining up with GetUp because I like the way the GetUp movement is organised.  GetUp's principle of reclaiming democracy resonated with me as I feel strongly that citizen engagement with our government should be encouraged.  I am very persuaded that citizens should be active participants in democracy and policy creation, and GetUp gives members like me a good framework to be a part of that process and have my voice heard.

I am currently the lead coordinator of the Ipswich Action Group; we are deeply involved with the #StopAdani campaign and beginning to work on the campaign for Marriage Equality as well.  In our campaign efforts, we have set up market stalls to reach out to our local community, gone to meetings with our local MPs, and also hosted and made phone calls for the #StopAdani phone banks.  So if you live in the Ipswich area, and are interested in becoming a part of this movement, I will be delighted to have a chat and welcome you to the Ipswich Action Group.

I first became aware of GetUp during the 2007 federal election. The thrill of participating in political action beyond marches was fantastic. My participation died down a bit after that but when, as an initially reluctant 70-year-old, I joined Facebook a whole new level of engagement opened up.

I wasn’t a hands-on activist type. But then GetUp put a call out for front-desk volunteers for one day a week. Once I was committed to that, it felt necessary to pluck up my courage and host an Election GetTogether at my local cafe in the run up to the 2016 federal election. Next came the odd video appearance and I even made a few phone calls into Bass to kick Nikolic out of Parliament.

I’m now very involved with the North Sydney Action Group, I’m signing up for more actions, and even more phone calling. Throughout all this, I have been lucky enough to find a whole new network of marvellously interesting, like-minded and committed people. However dire the political news, I have found myself energised, rejuvenated, motivated — happy. As I sign up for more actions, the conviction grows that we can actually win.

North Sydney Action Group Member