March 2019 Guest Speaker, Harry Wall

Jane welcomed Harry Wall to the meeting.

Harry outlined the work of the Change the Rules Campaign and the imperative to vote the Coalition Government out of office in the upcoming Federal elections.

The Gilmore electorate is the focus of the efforts of VR members. This electorate is quite elongated, running from Kiama to Tuross Heads. Overall, the campaign goes back to 2007 when the ALP failed to follow up on the unions’ “Your rights at work” campaign.

The campaign aims to change public opinion on penalty rates; stress job security and the impact of the next generation of workers not being able to retire; and ensure that the campaign will not stop on election day.

The campaign is focusing its efforts in a handful of marginal seats. In New South Wales, these are Gilmore, Robertson and Flynn.

Efforts being undertaken in the Gilmore Electorate include door knocking, market stalls, pre-polling, and “how to vote” actions at polling booths once the election date has been fixed as well as on the election day.

Jane encouraged VR members to volunteer for this work in Gilmore. Accommodation is available. She has drawn up a roster of members’ availability during the 3 weeks prior to election day. This is expected to be either 11 or 18 May.

The Change the Rules Easter Campaign for Gilmore is being held between 18 and 24 April and will be launched at 6pm on 11 April at the Bomaderry Bowling Club.

Jane thanked Harry for his presentation and promised him a VR mug for his efforts.