Canberra Convergence: Lobbying for Climate Justice
Imagine if another 3,718,060 Australians wrote to or met with their MP or politician to discuss climate change! Based on their research, the Climate Compass Report says that this is the untapped potential for using lobbying in a campaign. You’d think it would be difficult for politicians to ignore that kind of pressure.
To find out what’s involved in organising a lobbying campaign we recently asked Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) to speak to the CJN about their recent week-long ‘convergence on Canberra’.
In 2023, DEA got behind Dr Louise Woodward, a paediatrician from Darwin, to protest fracking in the Beetaloo Basin and the associated development of the Middle Arm Project which involves extending the transportation and processing of petrochemicals in Darwin. Focused on the health impacts of fossil fuels, the message was clear: expanding oil and gas production will result in preventable illnesses and harms to children and adults, especially those living near processing plants. With scientific evidence on their side, health professionals across all the Medical Colleges together with concerned parents and vets for climate action, developed a campaign to put a stop to fossil fuel expansion in the NT.
Lobbying started with writing letters to Territory and Federal politicians to express their concern. After several meetings to coordinate their approach, the letter-writing phase culminated in a letter to the Prime Minister, signed by over 2000 health professionals and supported by the Medical Colleges (who represent more than 100,000 doctors). Dr Louise Woodward was invited to Canberra.
Dr Louise Woodward and Theresa Pham (medical student) speaking with Sen David Pocock. Image supplied by Pam White
The Canberra convergence brought together over 80 doctors, medical students and parent activists and resulted in 51 meetings with politicians. The week-long convergence was the result of a lot of work, but also had many moments of fun, with opportunities to meet other activists, be part of a ‘Politics in the Pub’ event, tour around Parliament House and attend question time. It resulted in excellent media coverage - being the story of the week in parliament - and reported on across the country. But the main outcome was that the Senate referred an inquiry into the Middle Arm Industrial Precinct to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee (Middle Arm Industrial Precinct – Parliament of Australia). The Committee is due to report in April 2024. While the DEA’s submission to the Inquiry highlights the health impacts, it also shows concern about greenwashing and the lack of transparency. Keep an eye out for the Inquiry’s report.
DEA campaigners, Parliament House, Canberra. Image supplied by Pam White
So, why was their lobbying successful?
There’s no doubt that doctors have a privileged status in Australia. DEA was effective in using this status to their advantage; and it meant they could pay to fly to Canberra and stay for the week, they could use pre-existing networks to get meetings with politicians, and they had resources to ensure the campaign was well organised and had good media coverage.
Not all groups have these resources so we asked DEA what lessons they could share with us if other groups wanted to use lobbying as a campaign tactic. Here are their take-aways:
Need someone/small group to drive campaign momentum.
Build a community to work together and support each other through all parts of the campaign.
Draw on relationships with other organisations, decision-makers and activists to garner support and build broader awareness of the issues.
Be prepared for lots of communication and meetings.
It takes time (this one took 3 months, which is relatively fast).
Work in your skill area; campaigns need a range of skills so think about what you (or your group) are good at and where you can make change.
Have a clear message that works with your organisation’s mission (eg health impacts of gas and oil production are a good fit for health professionals and parents).
Develop a media strategy across both social and traditional media.
Manage the workload so that people get to try new things with others. For example, DEA had a buddy system where each meeting with a politician involved 2 or 3 activists so that they could learn from one another and provide support.
During meetings with politicians, treat lobbying as being about building connections, not a one-off activity:
Be yourself,
Have a tight focus, stick to the big message,
Use resources as props (eg the report) that contain detail and evidence.
Follow up! Lobbying doesn’t stop after one meeting.
So, let’s tap into some of that untapped potential we discussed earlier. Lobbying is definitely worth a go. Start small with some letters and personally contacting decision-makers in your area. Promote what you’re doing on social media and garner support. You never know what the outcome might be!
The Climate Justice Network thanks Dr Pam White from Doctors for the Environment Australia for sharing their experience of lobbying and opening up some lively conversation.