Holding a forum for federal parliamentary candidates
in the lead up to an election is an effective way of
comparing different biodiversity policies, and ensuring
the biodiversity crisis becomes a politically important
issue.
A step-by-step guide to organising a political forum
is provided below.
You can also contact info@boobook.org.au at
any time for advice.
1. Identify your Electorate
To find out what Federal Electorate you live in go to
the Australian Electoral Commission website http://apps.aec.gov.au/esearch/ and
search using your postcode or locality name.
While you are there you can click on the link to the
Parliament of Australia website to identify your elected
Member in the House of Representatives. Alternatively,
call the Australian Electoral Commission on 13 2326.
Check whether your MP is a member of the Government (ALP)
or an Opposition party or independent (Liberal, National,
Greens, independents). If you want to find out more about
your MP, information on their background, first speech,
photograph, etc it is available on the Parliament of
Australia website http://www.aph.gov.au
The other parties may have identified candidates for
your electorate already, and you may want to invite all,
or some of these candidates to your forum.
To find the following political parties’ candidates for
your electorate go to http://greens.org.au/finder/meetus
http://www.nationals.org.au/OurTeam/Candidates.aspx
http://www.alp.org.au/labor-people
http://www.liberal.org.au/
and search your electorate.
2. Contact like-minded
groups
Once you know the boundary of
your electorate you should write up a list of like-minded
groups in your area. You can use the local councils
to point you in the direction of local community groups.
All States & Territories
have 'umbrella' or 'peak body' environment organisations,
(such as Conservation Councils - see examples below),
that may be able to assist you to identify other groups
and networks.
Contact groups and let them know you are thinking of
hosting an event for candidates to talk about their biodiversity
policies. Invite like-minded groups to participate or
attend.
3. Form a small group
to drive the process
As a result of your conversations with like-minded groups
in your area you are likely to have a number of people
interested in the idea of holding a forum. Try and form
a small group with a few committed people who are willing
to work together to organise the event.
4. Agree on purpose of
the event
For example, the purpose of the event could be to raise
one or two specific biodiversity issues of importance
to you and/or your small group. Try to minimise the number
of issues and be clear about your 'ask'; ask the group,
'what do we really want'? Try and come up with an answer
that is short and simple.
For the candidates the event is an oppurtunity to tell
the audience about their positions.
Make sure candidates are clear that the purpose is to
talk about biodiversity policy and ask them to distinguish
between personal and party positions.
5. Decide who to invite
You may want to limit invitations to candidates from
the major parties to keep the event short and to the
point.
6.
Clarify format for the event
Make a timetable and stick to it. A suggested format
is 7 minute timeslots for each candidate followed by
40 minutes of questions from the audience.
7.
Identify chair, MC or facilitator to keep the event
to schedule
Good facilitation is the key to a successful event.
Identify a community or environment sector leader skilled
in managing similar events. Try to engage an experienced
facilitator who knows how to keep questions and answers
on track and to the point. Discussions will inevitably
wander off on tangents. A good facilitator knows when
(and how) to bring conversations back to the point, the
purpose of the day. It is advisable for the facilitator
to ask the audience to keep questions short so that many
people's questions get answered.
8. Invite candidates
Contact candidates early to outline the purpose of the
event and canvass potential dates. Once a date is set,
send invitations in writing and request confirmation
of attendance.
9. Invite public audience
Advertise the event widely through local papers, environment
groups and community organisations.
10. Host the event and
keep a record of policies and commitments
Keep a record (such as an audio, video) or ensure you
have a dedicated note taker.
11. Let others know what
happened
Share your experience! What worked well? What didn't?
Any suggestions for improving similar events? Email info@boobook.org.au so
that we can compile lessons learnt, put people in touch
and keep a record of candidate and party biodiversity
positions across the country.
