So many problems – So many demands!

As the election approaches we are deafened by group after tragic group telling it’s heart-rending stories of unmet need.

Yet I know from experience over 30 years that many of these problems can be solved by relatively inexpensive Votergrams from concerned voters willing to share their solutions with all members of the parliaments responsible.

Nothing moves fast with government so I have learned to be patient, but slow gradual progress is better than a flurry of activity that produces promises of the earth that simply do not materialise.

We also realise that every dollar spent by the government on solving problems is contributed by Australians in their taxes, duties, levies and government charges. None of it is a gift from heaven.

As I listen to organisations I see the one factor so frequently missing is what has enabled us to perform miracles for peak bodies and individuals alike. It is the persistent engagement of individual voters in persuading politicians of the need for action and providing those politicians with the solutions in the right way. What organisations lack that voters have is voter power – the ability to hire and fire elected representatives every few years. When we add that power to the in-depth work of well funded bodies they usually coast in without too much trouble. We have done that for pharmacies, skiers, chicken producers, victims of crime, road safety, debt laden farmers and many others. It just works and it is inexpensive.

FairGO has had 3 decades to develop the persuasive strategies that turn failure and despair to success and victory. The reality is that politicians are only too pleased to promote good ideas to government departments who they effectively control. Why wouldn’t they try to please the voters and make government work better? It is not their money. Their jobs depend on pleasing voters. They go into politics to help the people but most of the time the people don’t ask them for help or don’t ask for it in the right way of the right people.

One person with a Votergram can make a huge difference. 20 people can make up to 50 times the impact; 100 people might make 500 times the impact. There is a geometric progression of results in the techniques FairGO offers.

FairGO does not replace or take over from a major body. It simply magnifies the persuasive power of that body’s submissions to government.

So to some extent all the “noise” we are hearing in the media as the election approaches is just noise. When many worthy causes ask for money just before an election, what are politicians going to say to most of them but “yes”. Trouble is that after the excitement of the election passes so does the memory of the multitude of “promises”. Pre-election is not the time to put in a plea for good government. The time to do that is when the election results have been announced and the Members of Parliament have settled down to the stark realities of the job.

It is then that they will be most attentive to the needs of voters who are concerned enough to put the price of a tank of petrol on the table to fuel their claims. But strategy is all important. Politicians are not easily persuaded because their good decisions are public and criticised more often than they are praised. Votergrams are magic darts that carry messages that are often heeded by the very politicians who say they do not read them. FairGO is after results, not acknowledgements.

Drop me a line at greg@fairgo.org any time you want to find out about seriously influencing government.