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Protest

Protesting is demeaning for protesters – they have to beg their own government to change

Protesting is like a battle that is contact free – a battle of words

It is a fight  with a winner and a loser

Its basis is strength to make the government do what is wanted

It takes on the government when both sides know that the advantage lies completely with the government

If the government does what protesters want it looks beaten – like a loser

Persuade

Persuasion is gentle and private – in parliamentary inboxes

It is based partly on logical arguments

When it is done by voters it carries a much more important message that the government might lose votes

That is particularly so if the voter cares enough to pay to send Votergrams

Votes are much more important to politicians than the logic of any issue

That voting power of political persuasion can be exercised by a voter going into a marginal electorate and upsetting the status quo

With persuasion, the politicians look like winners if they do what is wanted, so it is more appealing to them

 Teachings of Christ

“Do to others as you would like others to do to you”. Christ’s message is as important when influencing politicians to improve society as in every other aspect of life.  Voters Network and FairGO are based on many principles of Christian teaching whilst by no means being limited to Christians

The biggest offenders are the major Australian banks themselves, as the Royal Commission discovered. Customers have been cheated on a grand scale and much of the cheating relates to loans.

When I saw how banks treated customers once they were deregulated I knew that my Christian responsibility was to do what I could to help those customers. The lesson of the Good Samaritan was clear. I was running my Chartered Accountancy practice with business and farm clients around Australia but decided right then to focus on helping borrowers in trouble with banks.

How do small business or farm owners get millions of dollars written off their overdue bank debts; save their assets from foreclosure?

They hire GBAC, my firm that has specialized in bank debt write-offs ever since that bank deregulation in 1987.

Check out GBAC now. I will be happy to help you in any way I can. Be Prepared for the end of debt deferral when it comes. Don’t wait ‘til it’s too late!

You may not stumble across a traveler beaten by thieves as you drive to the city, so who are the neighbours Christ taught us to help?

They include those people, predominantly but not exclusively women and children, being brutally beaten and abused in their homes by a family member who at some time loved them; the students unable to get enough good education to take them into rewarding careers; the elderly people neglected and invisible in homes or aged care facilities.

The Good Samaritan found an inn keeper and paid for the beaten man’s care. The Samaritan gave time, effort and money as the token of love for this stranger. The way we behave on Earth determines our life in heaven.

FairGO offers every Christian a practical and powerful way to love their neighbours in need and to provide them with the care they need. The best body to help the victims of domestic and family violence, students in poverty and our elderly people, is government. Government is controlled by Parliament and parliament is made up of people we elect to represent us. While you can help one or two, perhaps a dozen people personally, Christians by leveraging their effort through government have been able to help hundreds or even thousands.

God has given us two very effective ways to influence our Members of Parliament to guide government, to do what is required by those most in need.

The ultra cheap Votergram service, run  by dedicated Christians, combines diplomacy, psychology and strategy to help every Australian Christian bring government support to those who most need it. Votergrams have enabled Christians to change and save many lives.

Voters Network Australia educates voters on how to persuade politicians in order to guide government to operate in a Christian way. While we have a Christian PM is a good time to act rather than hiding our good ideas from the decision-makers under a cloud of modesty.

If you have a burning desire to do what Jesus taught, email me, Greg at FairGO and find out how you can follow Christ’s teaching by pouring out Christian love on those most in need. You will be able to arrange care for them by the bodies with the greatest resources in Australia, our governments.

It does not necessarily mean government spending vast amounts of money. What it involves is a little bit more help or “love” for those who need it. FairGO gives you the best opportunity in Australia to become a “Good Australian” and help your neighbours in need.

Next time I will explain how you can move metaphorical mountains when you follow Christ’s teachings.

Of course black lives matter just as much as any other lives matter. It is a question of whether they matter to you enough to do something about it that actually costs you time, effort and money. If it doesn’t then those lives will remain at risk.

But if they matter enough for you to act to prevent their loss that will happen.

Government actions match the will of the people. If you live in Australia you have superbly responsive politicians who understand that their careers depend on doing what the people want done. Their problem is that the people do not often tell them. If they do, it is often with noisy and threatening street demonstrations which make the politicians look stupid, neglectful and weak.

That is not the most effective way to treat the very people you need on side to make the changes you want.

There are two other ways Australians can influence what society does in a quiet, diplomatic and encouraging way rather than in a threatening way, though the threat of being voted out remains the same. Although, the people who demonstrate are more often people who did not vote for the party in power and so their demonstration does not threaten the loss of so many votes.

1. Join Voters Network which is in the process of establishing a taskforce on  A Fair Go for Black Australians. The taskforce will determine what the major challenges to be faced are; what the best solutions from the viewpoint of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are ; and campaign in parliaments to have the solutions adopted. It will take some work so we need as many people to share the load as possible. No point depending on government to do it because government needs to be driven by the voters who pay and elect it. http://www.voters.network
2. To express your views right now as to what the government should do, contact FairGO and ask to send a Votergram to each one of the 225 Federal MPs and each one of your state MPs offering your solution. You will be given a special discount as this is a matter of national importance. If as a Christian you prefer to pay the full price then you will help FairGO to continue giving every Australian, young, old, black, white or any other colour, specifically including the Aboriginal community, a very effective voice to parliament which has operated for over 30 years. We just don’t make a big fuss about it. http://www.fairgo.org .

None of us are so busy that we cannot spare the time to do what Jesus told us to do. Aboriginals are in trouble and this is when the story of The Good Samaritan prompts us to act, for what we do not do will be used to assess us as well as what we do do.  Join in. We need your help to make Christian principles serve Australia well.

 

“Squabbling politicians must stop and start governing” says a letter to SMH 8/5/20. Really?

Squabbling is part of the political power play. They used to kill each other to rule and still do elsewhere. The new Australian Voters Network helps voters join the power play to their advantage by working with those whose political views are different, embracing what Jesus taught as recorded in Matt 5:43 -.

Politicians care about voters, but first and foremost they care about themselves and their parties.

The Australian Voters Network helps Christian voters and others shape their own and national futures. Currently the main power players are politicians, political parties, big business, and media. All compete for our taxes, resources and future. Look at sport grants, government contracts, dry rivers, climate change and tax evasion.

The letter criticises their “preoccupations with factional infighting, back-stabbing and irreconcilable differences”. That is how individual politicians increase their power. Each strives to eliminate rivals. By strength of numbers, experience, strategies and training, Voters Network enables voters to force politicians to focus on their main role of representing the voters’ interests in parliament. Voter disinterest creates a huge vacuum into which self interest, neglect, inability and corruption creep.

The letter says “they set a poor example”. They actually set a very clear example of how power politics works. From 30+ years of watching and analysing that example, Voters Network knows how voters can use that behaviour to exert influence for good government. When voters set the example of working together, politicians happily follow because it is their path to success at the ballot box.

Australian Voters Network was formed to rectify the problems of which the letter complains and it has been amazingly successful. Nobody corrects their teenagers via the media and it does not work with politicians either. The network gives voters easy access directly to every politician in Australia.

By party neutral networking, Australian voters can enjoy the very best governments in the world. Sports stars are judged on performance in the game and politicians should be judged on their performance at representing voters’ views in parliament. Sports stars play best when facing worthy opponents. Networking turns powerless individual voters into a powerful, informed and cohesive force receiving satisfaction from politicians in return for their votes and taxes.

The letter suggested that politicians are, by standing for office “pledging, from different political viewpoints to work harmoniously for the good of the state or country.” When a politician says the words “I pledge” so and so, that is a pledge. Nothing else is. Voters Network is the first national, party-neutral organisation to enable all voters to work harmoniously for the good of themselves, the state and country. When voters do that, politicians soon follow. It is the obvious way to win votes. It seems like practical Christianity to me.

Democracy is a power game in which numbers and knowledge give people more power. Voters Network gives previously powerless voters the opportunity to gain almost unimaginable power through strength of numbers, knowledge and support. The network gives its members the power. It does not use members to gain power for itself.

That is what is unique about the Australian Voters Network, apart from 30+ years of successes on which it has been built. It is not just for Christians but it is based on a good measure of Christ’s teachings about how to work with others. In particular  the parable of the sower and the story of the woman banging on the judges door have guided its strategies.

Jesus told us that we could not “serve God and money” and Solomon told us that “The borrower becomes the lender’s slave”. These two warnings sometimes prompt Christians to give less careful attention to money matters than others in the more material world. That can lead them to fall prey to unscrupulous moneylenders like those Jesus upset in the temple.

As a very committed Christian I set about helping borrowers when bank lending was deregulated in about 1987.

A debt negotiator’s claim in Sydney Morning Herald on May 1, to be 1^st in Australia (in 2001) is false. GBAC & Moneygrams began negotiating on bank loan applications and write-offs in 1987. Last year one major bank wrote off 100% of a large mortgage loan for a GBAC client. They have arranged debt write offs, better loans and re-finance in every state and territory in Australia for 30+ years.

Nobody has the same negotiating tools, experience or solutions as GBAC backed by FairGO and the Australian Voters Network does. They don’t do this to earn a living. They do it because They care deeply that Australians are treated fairly by their governments and their financial institutions.

Most borrowers simply do not have the time or skills to do this negotiating and few negotiators care enough to put their customers first before their own fees. GBAC negotiate very hard with the banks to get a good deal for borrowers. They would not have been attracting debt laden borrowers for over 30 years if they could not do the job well.

But it also pays to borrow well in the first place and without professional assistance that is almost impossible. Then management of your loan is very important throughout its term. This is where many borrowers, particularly businesses and farms, come unstuck. It is not expensive to do, but is great protection against foreclosure.

let me know if I can help you. There is n need to suffer in silence or to lose your home, business or farm.

Salt & light   Matt 5: 13 & 16

“You are the salt for all mankind” “You are like light for the whole world.” That is what Jesus taught.

By joining the Australian Voters Network (free) with Christians and non-Christians alike, you can discuss what can be improved then persuade politicians to do it. You can play a part in guiding government into building a nation where all Australians live fulfilling lives. You can be the Salt & Light for Australia!

You know what Jesus would want us to do for our Australian neighbours. The Samaritan did it. By influencing government, you can do it too.

Inspired by Christ’s teachings I have been able to give Australians the tools to literally “change the world”, at least our bit of it. The Votergrams I invented give you huge leverage. You don’t need party politics, just a desire to love God and love your neighbour as yourself. That implies fairness for us all. That is why I set up the FairGO Voterlobby. Governments do what they are persuaded to do. They don’t just think it up. Fairness is not the same as equality. We all have different talents & want different things.

Dip your toes in the water by joining www.voters.network . It is about what you want done. Your ideas are vital to good government. That is the hidden message of democracy.

Easter is a time for us to remember that doom and gloom can be overcome. In the same way the coronavirus with its health and economic impact on so many Australians can also in most cases be overcome. Christianity has taken a bit of a battering over the last few years and this is a good opportunity for Christians to demonstrate what loving your neighbour is all about in the broadest sense of the term as Christ used it.

Many Australians are going to need a helping hand in dealing with the impact on their health, socialisation, income, jobs and debts. There is every chance that many people will suffer very badly, that many businesses will fail and it is assured that the community will have a great deal of debt to repay over future years.

This will be a good time to reread the four Gospels and look for the ways in which Christ’s teachings of tolerance, patience, kindness and forgiveness can be applied to fellow Australians whether they are neighbours or members of Parliament, business people or government staff. There is plenty of good government policy at the moment and there will be plenty of mistakes as we work through the crisis. It is good to remember how easy it is to criticise and how difficult it is to make the right decisions that affect great numbers of people well.

For those who want to improve society there are several important rules:

Find out what your opponents want and develop good answers as to why your solutions are better.

Contact the FairGO Voterlobby and engaged them to help you with strategic political persuasion.

Use their Votergram service to take your message to all members of Parliament in the name of individual supporters of yours. You will learn from FairGO why that is so important.

Votergrams are based on the parable of the sower and you will benefit if you practice the persistence of the woman knocking on the judges door.

Jesus taught us to help others to enjoy life and he taught it in a way that fitted with life under a Roman dictatorship and domination by religious leaders. Life in Australia, in our superb democracy, is quite different. We are not so much “ruled” as governed by a committee of people who we elect to represent us. For those who apply Christian principles strategically to persuading politicians and guiding government,will enjoy great success. FairGO has been helping Christians do that for more than three decades.

 

Matthew 20:26-28

“This however is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you want to be great they must be the servant of the rest and if one of you wants to be first they must be your slave, like the son of man who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.”

How can Australian Christians do this in the way that has substantial impact? There will be many thoughts on this question, but my answer is “by influencing government”.

Governments in Australia have more resources and power than you or I will ever have. So if we can influence governments to serve the people of Australia and even specific Australians or groups of Australians, then we will have done what Jesus suggested in this passage – served them – well.

For 8 years between 1978 & 1986 I pondered how to get governments treating people decently. In July 1983 I believe I received a direct encouragement from God. Three years later, in March 1986 I launched the revolutionary computer-based Votergram service. It allowed me or any other Australian to directly send a brief 100 word message to every Member of Parliament.

It was an amazing overnight success. Governments did what I and others asked. People came to me who I had never met, about personal problems with family members and governments fixed those problems. They came with national issues and governments fixed those too.

No-one was more surprised than me. Overnight I had become a servant to many other Australians wanting governments to do something, almost always for the benefit of a third party or parties. It was a daughter needing care for a mental illness; a seriously disabled young adult son needing care interstate away from his family and near young friends; a home for disabled adults needing additional government support or forced to close; farmers needing price support.

After 34 years, that service has grown into the FairGO Voterlobby, Votergrams and the Australian Voters Network, providing a way for Christians to serve their community by influencing government to do what is needed. Those Christians can leverage the enormous resources of government to do Christian good. So many people take their suggestions to the media or public protest. which makes politicians look silly and so is counter-productive. Whereas we make it simple to nice and politely tell them within the confines of parliament so they are encouraged  and able to own the changes they make at your request.

You can personally serve individuals, communities, states and territories or Australia as a whole and even people in foreign countries, in this way. Australians influenced the ticklish question of naming “North Macedonia” and they have influenced Indian government attention to rape and abuse of women.

A strong Christian influence is important in our governments. Do not leave it to the PM or Christian  MPs, for parliament is a voting forum at all levels, where the majority rules. There are a good number of MPs who would not be swayed by a Christian leader wanting to do something that disadvantaged them. Voters who contact EVERY MP influence their thinking because elections are a matter of votes too and votes are the currency of democracy.

Votergrams are not the only way to bring Christian influence to bear on government, but they have proven to be the best because they go to every MP without any party-political connotations, without any bias caused by funding. Jesus taught us that people are more likely to respond well to those who treat them patiently, kindly and tolerantly. You can treat politicians that way by Votergram. You can do good works on a large scale with very little effort time or money because the MPs  and government will do it for you.

May God bless this work of Christian service to others.

Check out the FairGO Voterlobby website blog for 10 Handy hints for handling the corona crisis.

Christians have always taken a prime role in care of those who are ill.

But there is another way that Christians can put their faith into practice in this crisis. That is to share their Christian solutions with all Members of Parliament , state, territory or federal. They will set the path for the nation.

Australia is fortunate enough to have a Christian Prime Minister and a good few Christian politicians. But there are a good many politicians who would reject Christian teachings.

This is a time to:

Let your light shine by sending your good ideas to all Members of Parliament so they can consider and use them. Votergrams, inspired by the parable of the sower can help you do that in the most effective and economical way.
When you sow good ideas in parliament you become like the yeast in the bread.
Put serving God ahead of serving money particularly in the form of wages or profits.
Care for the sick
Go the extra mile
Look after those who have lost jobs or business income.
Love your neighbour, particularly if you can see that they are in trouble. People will not always tell you so it is a case of keeping an eye out and taking the chance to chat whenever that arises. ( without getting too close).
Resisting the urge to judge when the full circumstances may not be known.
Ask for assistance when you need it.
Avoid anger when under pressure
Extend kindness to everyone you meet because it is hard to know what pressures they may be under.
Remember the underlying concerns of young children and teenagers at school and youths at university or Tafe who may feel powerless to deal with the circumstances in which they find themselves.

Pray that God will give you the wisdom to know what to do, the courage to share it with those in power and the energy to work hard to achieve it.

Bring your Christian influence to bear on the decision-makers in our society. That is one of the roles of a Christian today that is different to the circumstances in which Jesus lived- under Roman occupation. Your governments work for you – if you make them!