Review your year...

A review of the year from GetUp!

The GetUp movement has never been larger, nor had greater impact on Australian society as it did in 2010. Thank you.

Here's a quick update on what we've achieved together in the few months since the election. Hopefully it will serve to inspire us as we take these important campaigns into 2011:

International campaign on WikiLeaks - when our Government failed to stand up for freedom of information and the rights of Australian citizen Julian Assange, GetUp members did. 95,000 Australians signed a statement on WikiLeaks in less than a week. Together we published it in huge ads in The New York Times, The Washington Times, The Australian, and The Age -- and it was even tabled in the U.S Congress. The campaign generated news coverage across the world, including The Washington Post, FOX News, CNN International, ABC's 7:30 Report, and news bulletins on Channels 7 and 10 here in Australia.

Mental Health - working with experts like Australian of the Year, Prof. Pat McGorry, and former head Government advisor, Prof. John Mendoza, GetUp members helped make mental health a top-order issue this year. For the first time, Australia now has a Minister for Mental Health, and we've seen the Coalition and Greens make policy commitments that dwarf previous efforts. Just in the last month, when a crucial mental health motion failed an initial Senate vote, GetUp members intervened, and helped it pass. Thousands of GetUp members faxed, called and met with their representatives, and locals even took out newspaper ads in the electorates of independent MPs with deciding votes.

Women's choice - when a young couple faced time in jail for seeking an abortion this year, GetUp members launched a huge campaign to overturn archaic laws that make abortion punishable by imprisonment. So far, 55,000 Australians have joined the campaign, and chipped in over $375,000 for two huge national newspaper ads, billboards across Queensland, Australia's first national TV ads on reproductive choice, and a Newspoll survey that showed 72% of Queenslanders want to remove abortion from the criminal code.

Protecting Tasmania's native forests - we've seen a great step forward, as Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the Federal Government's support for the State of Principles agreed to by the conservation movement, the forest industry and unions. This comes after more than 10,000 GetUp members joined in the hard work of our partner organisations by emailing their Labor MP or Senator encouraging them to back the Principles and over 54,000 Australians signed up to the Australian Native Forests Charter.

Reforming the banks - GetUp members swelled the ranks of one of the largest Australian class action law suits in history, to recover unfair and unlawful penalty fees charged by the big banks. Together, we also funded a parody ad that made news on all the major networks. Treasurer Wayne Swan has now announced a number of reforms, and while they don't go nearly far enough, as we enter 2011 there has never been more momentum for banking reform.

Marriage equality - tens of thousands of GetUp members contacted their MPs urging them to support marriage equality for same sex couples. On the same day as the emails and calls from GetUp members flooded Parliament House a vote was held on the first steps toward marriage equality... and it passed! Politicians will now consult their constituents about the proposal and report back to the Parliament. We're only getting started with this campaign - keep an eye out for our great new TV ad early next year.

Standing with Traditional Owners in the Kimberley - when WA Premier Barnett announced his plans to compulsorily acquire Indigenous land at James Price Point, 40,000 GetUp members joined the campaign supporting local Traditional Owners. The petition was presented to the Premier last week.

And that's just the last few months. Earlier in the year, GetUp members ran Australia's largest ever independent election effort and won two huge court cases that added over 100,000 additional voters to the rolls.

It's been an incredible year, all built by the actions of hundreds of thousands of everyday Australians. May we carry the same passion, energy and commitment with us into 2011.


Have a wonderful holiday and a happy New Year,
The GetUp Team