A snap election. A premier running scared. And we’ve got a plan. GET UP

A snap election in Queensland January 31st. A premier running scared. And we’ve got a plan.

Facing perhaps the largest swing against a first-term government in modern Australian history, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has called a snap election, hoping to hide from his terrible record in a holiday month.

But we have a way to make one of the most destructive premiers in living memory pay for his treatment of our Great Barrier Reef.

We’ve made a series of TV ads we know will make the Government hurt in key marginal electorates across the state — including Premier Newman’s own seat of Ashgrove, which he’s in danger of losing. The ads are ready, now we just need to get them on air and ad spots are running out fast.

Click here to watch the first ad and help get them all on the air before the election

For weeks now, GetUp has been working with some of the best strategists, pollsters, ad-buyers and scriptwriters in the country. Together, we’ve produced ads designed and tested to cut through with Queensland voters. We know protecting the Reef is a vote-changing issue, and these ads will drive home exactly how bad Premier Newman has been.

In an election with so many marginal seats, our ability to influence is huge. Some seats will come down to just a few hundred votes. And our testing shows that delivering these key messages about what the Newman Government is doing to the Reef makes voters’ blood boil. That means every ad spot we’re able to buy has vote-changing, election-changing potential, including the potential to dislodge Premier Newman from his own seat.

Now, all we need to do is buy the ad spots.

Can you help get these ads aired as widely as possible before the election? Every dollar counts, and the more money we can raise, the better we’ll be able to counter the big money of the Government and the mining industry.

In case you need a reminder, here’s a quick list of environmental ‘highlights’ from the Newman Government so far:

• Fast-tracking plans to dredge and dump millions of tonnes of Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area seabed at Abbot Point¹
• Appointing an executive from a coal company to write the Government’s environment policy²
• Approving a coal mine Newman had previously ruled out (after the parent company donated $650,000 to the Newman Government)³
• Promising hundreds of millions of dollars to help foreign coal giant Adani make Abbot Point, including dredging and dumping, happen⁴
• Promising a royalty holiday to ship coal from the Galilee Basin through the Reef⁵
• Stripping away the rights of Australians to oppose new mines⁶

Our Reef has suffered enough at the hands of the Newman Government. It’s time to fight back.

The mining industry is already splashing out. We know we’re up against multi-billion dollar companies who aren’t afraid of throwing big money around at election time. But we can win by being smarter.

By working with the best strategists, ad-buyers and pollsters, we’re making sure every single dollar we raise is used in the single most effective way it can be.

As we’ve done together so many times before, it’s time to fight back.

Paul, Sam R and Tristan, for the GetUp team.

References:
[1] “Abbot Point dredging: Spoil to be dumped on land, not in Great Barrier Reef waters”, ABC News online, 8 Sep 2014
[2] “QCoal’s James Mackay developing environmental policy for Newman Government in Queensland”, ABC News online, 5 May 2014
[3] “Donors get mine approval ‘on quiet'”, The Australian, 12 January 2015
[4] “Dredging dump could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions before Abbot Point finance secured”, The Guardian, 11 December 2014
[5] “Adani’s $10-billion gamble”, Business Today, 18 Janaury 2015
[6] “Mining coup in Queensland removes public objection rights”, The Conversation, 22 September 2014

GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group. We use new technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues. We receive no political party or government funding, and every campaign we run is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you’d like to contribute to help fund GetUp’s work, please donate now! To unsubscribe from GetUp, please click here. Our team acknowledges that we meet and work on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We wish to pay respect to their Elders – past, present and future – and acknowledge the important role all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within Australia and the GetUp community.

Authorised by Sam Mclean, Level 2, 104 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010.