NSW
Look up your local MP in the form below for a detailed guide
to writing to them with targeted talking points
By Post
The most impactful letter is one that has been printed out or hand-written and sent through the post. Send to:
MP not found
By Email
A personally written email is also very effective. You can send the email to
MP not found
Introduce
Introduce yourself to your MP, say where you live, something about your family, community, or church/mosque/temple etc.
Say that you are writing because you are concerned about Alex Greenwich’s “Equality” Bill, which is being debated on February 8th.
Concerns
Outline some of your concerns about the legislaton. You do not need to cover everything that is wrong with it, instead focus on the issues that concern you personally the most.
Some options are:
Religious Freedom
Children consenting to medical treatment
This undermines the relationship of parents and children, and allows children to make life-changing decisions without their parent’s guidance and support.
Sex Self-ID
Prostitution
Commercial Surrogacy
Complexity
Note how large and complex this bill is. You might want to point out that it is 50 pages long, or that it makes over 80 changes to 20 different laws.
You could also say that the different issues in the bill are tangled up together, and there is no good way of passing parts of it without unintended consequences.
Your request
Ask the MP to reject the bill completely, and not try to cut it up or pass bits of it.
If the Government wants to address any of these issues, they should write their own legislation and consider each issue separately.
Conclude
Thank the MP for their attention.
Ensure you include your name and address. This is so the MP’s staff can confirm that you are a member of their electorate. Letters without an address are often ignored
This summary document is designed for all MPs, as a summary of our concerns and requests. Print it out and include it in a mailed letter, or download it and attach it to an email.
We recommend you don’t simply put the link in your email, but make it an attachment. Attachments to emails are usually taken more seriously than links.
This letter is provided as an example. It is always best to write your own letter, however this example is based on a few of the discussion points above and is provided to help you start.
If you are basing your letter off this template, make sure you replace the sections in **[brackets]**
Dear MP not found,
or Dear MP not found,
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[write a paragraph about yourself, include what suburb you live in or how you are connected to the MP’s electorate. You might mention your family, your cultural background, your faith, what church or place of worship you attend]
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I am writing about the "Equality" bill and the serious concerns it presents. The bill proposes several measures that could significantly impact our community, particularly faith-based institutions, young people, and women’s spaces.
The bill hollows out protections for faith-based institutions from the Anti-Discrimination Act. This would expose these institutions to a flood of discrimination complaints. The decision on what constitutes “reasonable” faith would be left to judges, potentially undermining the autonomy and integrity of religious organisations. Faith-based institutions play a crucial role in our society, and it is essential that their protections are preserved to maintain the freedom of religious practice.
Another contentious aspect of the bill allows young people, aged 16 and over, to change their sex on their birth certificate at will, without needing any biological or surgical basis. This raises significant concerns about the implications for the legal and social recognition of gender. The ease with which such a life-altering change can be made at such a young age could lead to unexpected and potentially harmful consequences.
The bill also mandates that schools, prisons, places of worship, and other women’s spaces must treat people as their newly-declared sex. This requirement disregards the potential impact on other individuals in these environments, particularly women who may feel their privacy and safety are compromised. It is vital to consider the broader ramifications for all members of the community when implementing such sweeping changes.
I urge you to reject this bill in its entirety. The potential negative consequences for faith-based institutions, young people, and women’s spaces are too significant to overlook. It is crucial that we protect the rights and freedoms of all individuals while ensuring that any legislative changes are carefully considered and balanced.
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[enter your name, address and phone number. Your address is needed so MPs know you are legitimately from their electorate.]
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