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Working with the Greens Parliamentary OfficeThis has been prepared to assist Greens members and other activists interact with The Greens parliamentary office. | Petitions | Questions | Adjournment speeches | Events in Parliament | Media | Parliament Sitting times | Letters to Ministers | Greens office contact details | Many campaigns develop petitions as tools to lobby government and mobilise the local community. Petitions can only be presented to parliament if they are worded correctly. Greens parliamentarians are available to present petitions. This can only occur when parliament is sitting. For petitions to be presented to the Legislative Council use the following
wording:To the Honourable the President and members of the Legislative
Council of New South Wales. Your petitioners pray that the House will call on the government to (brief
statement about what you are calling for). For petitions to be presented to the Legislative Assembly in the first
sentence replace President with Speaker and Council with Assembly. Asking questions of Ministers is one of the ways to put Ministers on the spot and highlight problems with government policy and programs. Questions also serve as a means to gain information on a particular issue. There are questions without notice, asked directly in the House, and questions with notice, asked by the member in a written format.The Greens parliamentary office welcomes suggestions from you or any organisation you work with on what issues we should ask questions. The three Greens members would each get to ask on average about two questions
(without notice) during each week parliament is sitting. So it may take
a while for your question to be asked in the House. There is no limit
to the number of questions with notice that can be asked. The important
point to note is that you do not have to provide a perfect question full
of detail. We can work over the question, so it is in the required format.
At the end of each sitting day a half hour is allocated for adjournment
speeches. During this time members of parliament can speak for up to five
minutes on any topics. These speeches provide a tremendous opportunity
for Greens parliamentarians to speak on topics that receive little or
no coverage in the parliament or the media. Some groups prepare briefing
notes on issues they want covered; others send in their leaflets and media
releases so the parliamentarians have some background on the issue to
be covered. Exhibitions/meetings/events in parliament Parliamentarians can host meetings in a range of different rooms and
exhibitions (usually held around the fountain on the ground floor). Exhibitions
run for about two weeks and can be combined with an opening event. The
Greens members are happy to host events in the NSW parliament. Media / Information distribution If you or you local group are issuing a press release/leaflet/briefing
paper we can distribute these in parliament if the issue is of relevance
for NSW politicians. Media releases can be boxed in parliament. Information
for politicians can be sent directly to members of both the Upper and
Lower Houses. Contact details for parliamentarians and sitting times If you require contact details of parliamentarians and ministers, and sitting times for the NSW parliament phone (02) 9230 2111 and request this information. If you have any trouble ring The Greens parliamentary office. Green parliamentary
members and staff are often able to give political advice on particular
issues and suggest a useful course of action to assist campaigns. Give
us a ring if you would like to discuss your issue. A letter from a member carries considerable weight. If you have sent
letters to a minister and received no reply or are getting the 'run around'
contact The Greens parliamentary office and we will try and assist. The
Greens member can write a letter on your issue, request the minister responds
to your request or request a meeting with the minister or his/her representatives.
Letters can be an effective way to move an issue forward. Contact with The Greens parliamentary office Please feel free to contact the Greens representatives in Parliament. We are really keen to hear about your issues. Due to the heavy workload we may not be able to act immediately but we always want to work with you, so please give us a ring. Lee Rhiannon MLC Ph: 9230-3551 Re: sending faxes to The Greens parliamentary office If you wish each office to receive your fax please send to any of the
Sydney fax numbers and mark on it Ian, Sylvia and Lee, and we will ensure
everyone receives a copy. |
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