GET UP! SPEAK UP and Support Political Transparency and Democracy
I have no issue with any activist group getting funding. The issue I see as problematic for society is when large multinational corporations have political influence through donations that impact on how tax payers funds are spent. GET UP is not run by the public, it is run on donations, that is a different matter. This is seeking to give a voice to people who are outside of the democratic/political process. The irony is that government’s are stating they represent people. Groups like GET UP! don’t get up unless they feel government is not listening or undermining different voices that don’t agree with them. Democracy embraces all voices. Thus it is through the ignoring of people’s voices that political activism arises. They are naturally seeking to re-balance power as they perceive some issue as unfair or against values. The only suggestions I’d say to GET UP! is be the change you wish to see, be mindful of getting consumed by power, righteousness or knowing better. Just dutifully represent those who have no voice in integrity. I encourage people not to create wars but to inspire new visions. Speak up and participate in democracy is the only way democracy will re-emerge. I was interested to learn of other activist groups supporting GETUP!, I think they have to as a counter balance to totalitarian power and control over information sources to the public. Always in a world of duality the moment you speak up the opposite finds you. It is the way of the world, you cannot suppress or get rid of it. The more you fight it the more you put it in place. Relax and allow democracy. That thought is expressed for both sides.
This is an article criticising GETUP! but I note the media is also influenced by politics and offer propaganda to support one side over another. I note the picture of the Labor party, that is political and seeks to influence the reader that they are associated with the Labor party, this is disinformation. Note https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/20/getup-targets-labor-in-biggest-ever-week-long-blitz-over-foreign-donations-law.
I value neutral sources as Justice is my interest, that is the re-balancing of decisions based on fairness. Great journalists always provide balance, if they are co-opted by media moguls they lose their integrity to report to the public in a way that truly serves them. That is what I feel.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/activist-group-getup-seeks-ban-on-foreign-gifts-for-others/news-story/34b66e158cd16dcc718240712b26614b
Activist group GetUp! seeks ban on foreign gifts ’for others’
Activist group GetUp! has accepted more than $300,000 in foreign donations over the past two years while campaigning for a ban on foreign donations to Australian political parties.
GetUp!, which describes itself as independent and non-partisan, and boasts online about a successful, grassroots campaign to “put the Liberals last” during the July federal election, has been campaigning for the ban on the grounds that foreign donations have a corrosive effect on Australian democracy.
However, a review of recent donations to GetUp! reveals donations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from international activist groups. Recent donations include $63,693 from the New York-based Oak Foundation, $42,960 from German activist group Campact, and two separate donations of $99,985 and $95,633 from the Avaaz Foundation. According to its website, the Oak Foundation funds a range of projects around the world to “address issues of global, social and environmental concern”.
The Avaaz group organises online campaigns and viral petitions, protesting on issues such as Rupert Murdoch’s ownership of newspapers, the use of fossil fuels, and GM foods. It claims 43 million members worldwide, and supporters include Al Gore.
Campact is a German version of GetUp! and campaigns on issues such as climate change and income equality.
GetUp! national director Paul Oosting told members of the joint standing committee on electoral matters last week that foreign donors had “certainly made major contributions” but GetUp! was “very comfortable that any major gift we receive is ethical”.
Liberal MP Ben Morton said he had identified $300,000 in foreign donations “and at the same time, you’re calling for bans on foreign donations, and in my view, it’s rank hypocrisy”. GetUp!’s website features a PayPal button for overseas donors, which has the words: “Donating from overseas? Please use PayPal below.”
“Isn’t it just complete hypocrisy? GetUp!’s own website is soliciting for foreign donations,” Mr Morton said, but Mr Oosting said “many of our members are abroad when they are making donations”. He added that 95 per cent of its funds “come from everyday Australians chipping in what they can”. Mr Morton accused GetUp! of being “a front” for the Greens and the ALP, displaying a photograph of GetUp! board member Phil Ireland partying with Labor members on election night.
Mr Oosting acknowledged the Left-leaning nature of many of the organisation’s board members, but said “they are going to have their own political views”. Asked to identify a single GetUp! board member aligned with the Liberal or National parties, he could not.
In a statement, Mr Oosting said: “GetUp! receives funding from international member-based organisations like Avaaz and Campact, and philanthropists like the Oak Foundation, for things like protecting the Great Barrier Reef from the excesses of the coal mining industry.
“It’s usually around 1 per cent of our annual income, but we’re proud of working with international organisations to boost the impact of our generous member contributions.
“When the Liberal Party disclose where all their income comes from, stop providing special treatment to coal and gas companies, who don’t pay much tax, stop taking donations from the arms industry and big tobacco, we will take their gratuitous advice on what’s appropriate. We will continue to call for foreign donations to be banned. Should the Liberal Party find a moral compass on this, we will be more than happy to comply with improved rules we have advocated for.”