Ask Mayo candidates to back full funding of family violence services

Every year, thousands of women trying to escape family violence are left without the services they need to be safe, because of Government funding decisions.

Experts say $2 billion of federal funding is needed; but so far the major parties have committed less than $200 million. This election is a key opportunity to change that. Can you email your local candidates in Mayo to ask them if they support full funding of family violence services?

The seat of Mayo has emerged as a key marginal seat this election -- which means locals are in a powerful position to influence which issues parties are prioritising in their final election commitments.

Click here for candidate emails

For highest impact we recommend sending separate emails to each candidate. But if you can't do that, we recommend making sure you use the "bcc" field so they can't see that you've sent the same email to the other candidates.

Sitting member: Jamie Briggs MP (Liberal)
Email: [email protected]

Labor candidate: Glen Dallimore
Email: [email protected]

NXT candidate: Rebekha Sharkie
Email: [email protected]

Click here for tips on what to write

Here are some pointers for putting together your email:
  • Introduce yourself - Explain that you're a local voter. If you voted for their party at the last election, you might want to mention this. 

  • Explain the reason you're emailing - Let them know that you're extremely concerned that thousands of women don't have access to adequate family violence service support and that you're worried the Federal Government still isn't providing adequate funding for services.

  • Mention that you're aware key peak bodies say $2 billion of federal funding is needed to address the family violence epidemic. Ask if their party is committed to providing that funding.

  • You might also want to mention:
    • That right now domestic violence groups are concerned that specialist services can't keep up with referrals from police; refuges can't shelter all the women seeking their help; community legal centres are forced to turn away women relying on their help.
    • The Victorian Royal Commission pointed to the dangerous impact of under-resourcing services. The Victorian Government committed $572 million just to address service and system gaps in that one state.
    • That you're aware the federal government has a shared funding responsibility for a number of the key services, including community legal services and specialist services.
    • That you know community legal centres are a critical service for women affected by violence, and are aware that $34.8 million of federal funding is set to be cut from 2017.
    • That Family Violence Prevention Legal Services need an additional $28 million to ensure national coverage of their service. 
  • Say that you look forward to their response and thank them for their time.

Once you've sent your email, please forward us a copy at [email protected] so we can keep track of all the powerful messages being sent to the candidates on this issue!

 

Authorised by Renee Carr, Fair Agenda, Suite 103, 55 Holt Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010.