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Full page ad in the paper today by GetUp and some of those 1 million Aussies happy to delegate their political power and influence to the one skilled and strong voice of GetUp.

Because Lord Acton said “Power tends to corrupt”, Votergrams, on the other hand, spread it around all over Australia. That is less corrupting and more gently persuasive, as it comes from actual individual voters in many electorates who are able to campaign in other electorates as well as their own.

Because our Lord said “Ask and receive” it is also the most important factor in our Australian democracy. Most people angry at or disappointed in government have never actually asked every Member of Parliament to do what they want done and explained it carefully. They have neither “Asked” nor “Knocked on the door” of Parliament, figuratively speaking.

The other 16 million Aussie voters not in GetUp have Turbo charged Votergram Voices instantly available with which to ask with  great likelihood that  they will be given what they ask. They retain in their own hands power over each issue of interest to them.

Votergrams multiply the voice of each Aussie voter by the number of MPs to which it is delivered directly. That can be up to 600 MPs in all parliaments.

We know that a V8 generally has more power than a straight 4 and turbocharged V12 has even more. The Votergram to Federal Parliament is a V225. To NSW it is a V130.

Members of Parliament are the heroes of our day and the foundations of our democracy. It is so easy to criticise them, but so few of us would try to please 5 million NSW voters or 17 million federal ones all at the same time on any one issue, let alone all the time on all the issues. Protests are about confrontation. Votergrams can claim over 4 decades of cooperation between voters and their elected parliamentary representatives. It has worked very well and very pleasantly for all concerned. Differences can be discussed and resolved. Nobody is insulted or bullied.

Only a certain number of voters and a certain number of MPs will be interested in any one issue enough to seriously do something about it. Some issues seem mountainous and immovable. Many move under gentle pressure.

The majority of those MPs interested in any one issue can usually be persuaded by the majority of voters interested in that issue, provided that those voters  clearly ask for and explain  fair and just changes or assistance. Polite, persistent political persuasion in the privacy of Parliament Pays off.

Next time you want to exercise your Voter Power, raise your Voter’s Voice and influence society of some section of it, let your Votergram voice be heard in the corridors of power by the most powerful people in the country. Don’t hide your light under a bushel. The parliament won’t see it there.

Anyone in Australia reading the newspapers watching TV or going on line would realise that the world and the Australian part of it particularly is mired in problems at present.

How staggering in one of the greatest periods of affluence that we have ever seen.

Many are unhappy with governments yet unable to work out how to improve what those governments do. We have a new federal government and NSW is just heading to an election.

Out taxes are being used as “vote bait” by major political parties. How tragic is it that political parties in power of all persuasions make the voters suffer neglect in between elections so that they can announce popular policies just before elections to win votes in marginal seats.

And how annoying that the opposition waits until just before elections to promise huge spending of our money for the benefit too of those in marginal electorates so that those voters will vote for them. But the fault is ours if we vote in return for payment  by way of services with out own money.

Ignore the promises. Vote on past performance.

There is a solution. Ignore the election promises which may well not be met anyway. Vote simply on the basis of how our own local MP has performed, regardless of party. Unless we go into a marginal electorate, it is only our local Member who we elect. The better that person is the better our government and society will be.

Majority rules

But Christian influence goes far beyond elections. After the election any voter prepared to do a bit of work, can “dare to be Daniel”. Today there are no lions to be scared of. Governments value our input on all matters as that lets them know what we want done. Politicians want to stay in parliament more than anything else and so that is what dominates their lives and policies. But we must tell each and every MP what we want done because democracy is a majority based system of government. We need to win a majority of those interested in our issue.

Voice + vote = influence

Christ has provided all the instructions for Christian influence in democracy. Of course God knew we would have democracy now. Perhaps it was God who gave it to us. Let us use that influence to shape the sort of society to which Christ pointed.

I developed the highly successful Votergram service from the parable of the sower; the widow knocking on the judges door until he delivered her justice, the good Samaritan and Joshua and the walls of Jericho to name a few. I have established Voters Network to share the application of what Jesus taught, to modern democracy. Jesus said that with faith we could move (metaphorical) mountains and indeed by applying His teachings I have found we can. How else could we have  cut the road toll per 100,000 by 70% or had smoking banned on airlines around the world?

For those who want to run political persuasion campaigns to achieve fair outcomes, we have established both Voterlobby as a fee based campaign management service and FairGO as a community NFP donation funded campaign management service.

Contact us and help make Christ’s teachings a reality toay.

Beware of the bank

Solomon said “The borrower becomes the lender’s slave.” How true that can be.
Bankers in particular knew that ultra-low interest rates were unlikely to last for long without a recession or depression, as did most accountants and economists. The rates would probably rise instead. This would apply equally to a home loan, farm loan and business loan.

Most business loans and farm loans are for between 15 and 30 years. Most home loans are for 30 years. So borrowers are in there for the long haul and a lot can happen to interest rates in a year.

If in 2023 Australia goes into recession or depression, the properties providing mortgage security for loans would probably collapse and many borrowers would not have the assets to make up the required security. The other impact of a recession is worse, loss of jobs and income. The bank might try to foreclose and sell the property up. Those borrowers could lose all their hard earned equity in their home, business or farm.

If on the other hand interest rates continue to rise, the borrowers may find that they cannot afford the increased repayments. There are plenty of million- dollar loans out there throughout Australia. Each 1% increase in the interest rate on each $1m of a loan costs the borrower $10,000 a year.

To survive, the borrowers would have to earn an extra $10,000 in net disposable income. That is an extra $10,000 in pay-packet or an extra $10,000 Net Profit, per million dollars of the loan or a similar reduction in spending. But rising interest rates can be synonymous with inflationary increases in prices, so to earn extra net disposable income could be a serious challenge. If that happened, many borrowers would again be unable to meet the loan repayments.

Because the banks had already been clever enough to issue a variety of loans that were always unaffordable from the start, there is potential for a mass of debt defaults in 2023-2025. In these cases the banks could foreclose and overall mostly recover close to the amount they had loaned out, maybe even more because accumulated unpaid interest can take a debt way beyond what it started out as.

Profit before principles – always
The big four banks, having earned $2.8 billion dollars profit last year between them, could afford to lose a bit here or there. The borrowers given potentially unaffordable loans would not be so lucky.

Of course, there are some excellent smaller banks and bank staff at non-executive level are mostly very helpful and honest people.

Just to ensure that they were in control, the bankers had legislation passed by the last Federal Government to prevent many consultants from helping borrowers, particularly home buyers and other consumers. These borrowers are restricted by law from getting help from almost anyone not in the pay of the banking and financial services industry. Lawyers are an expensive exception. The aim of the banks is to send people to financial counsellors who receive bank funding and are not known for getting dishonest banks to write off debt that has been fraudulently created. The alternative is to receive assistance from the moneylenders’ very own industry body called AFCA which is so blatantly working for the banks that until recently the most compensation they would award was a maximum of $5,000. Recognising their own dishonesty AFCA, as the result of a critical review of its operations following the Banking Royal Commission, has increased that to $2 million. But it has not gone back over past cases to re-assess compensation and increase amounts from $1500 to $15,000 or even $150,000 when that was the damage done by the bank to the borrower.

Even restricted free speech
The bankers have even successfully banned free speech in Australia with the Credit act preventing any paid consultant outside of the ruthless, bullying bank-controlled circle of “dispute resolvers” from even speaking to a borrower about dishonest bank action or speaking to the bank about it on behalf of the borrower. “We have ways of resolving your dispute”. Indeed the bankers do!

The banking industry has stitched up control  so that it can continue to rob, defraud and deprive borrowers just as it did before the Hayne Royal Commission exposed its dishonest practices and issued multi-million dollar fines. I don’t think it sent one bank director or CEO to gaol. Yet a woman who stole $2m from nab was quickly sentenced to imprisonment. Crooked bankers are well protected from gaol no matter how much they steal from or defraud Australians.

Batting for the borrowers
For the past 35 years since de-regulation, GBAC has worked steadfastly with business and farm borrowers, to have their banks write off unreasonable amounts of debt that were created by the bank’s improper lending practices, lies, deceit or totally inappropriate loan management. We have done that by working with those banks to carefully explain to them what they had done wrong and the impact it that had on their particular customers. The banks, some very willingly, and some very grudgingly, have paid up to compensate their customers for the damage caused to them by the bank’s action. We have had 100% of two debts written off and $5 million written off another. At least one bank CEO has been most helpful and really does care about his customers.

However, profit is key to bankers and that comes largely from charging customers more for the services, than it costs to provide them. People in Rural and Regional Australia and in the suburbs know about that. After the Royal Commission some of the banks had to come up with a clever way to continue to rip off their customers and they have found, in the Credit Act and AFCA, a way to do it.

However, we have very good parliaments in Australia, despite the impression often given in the media. The parliaments are our source of fairness and justice. Borrowers worried about how they will manage their loans throughout the years ahead will be able to easily take their cases to ALL parliamentarians by sending Votergrams to MPs.

Act Early
Meanwhile all borrowers might look closely at how to minimise risk by increasing their loan terms by some years to reduce the principal amount that is included in each repayment. They could also look around to see what cheaper loans might be available if they needed to refinance in the face of a bank demand for full repayment of the loan. LoanApps can help with that. It may, if possible, also be wise to cut expenses and do everything possible to increase income.

None of us knows what the future holds, but the Girl Guides and Boy Scouts have a great motto that could be followed to advantage  by borrowers. It is “BE PREPARED”. I have found it invaluable in the farms and businesses I have run, as well as for helping those we consult.

Greg

There is so much talk about democratic disasters. Australia’s unique Voterlobby protects voters against such chaos by helping interested voters and politicians work together for the good of society. What are big problems for voters can easily be solved by politicians.

Examples road toll down by 70%, no-smoking on airliners; community pharmacies supported; ski resorts saved; classrooms air conditioned. As long as voters play their part it works.

Many voters have not yet realised that good government requires input from them. They actually know what is wanted and needed in their areas and lives. Politicians have proved remarkably keen to assist with good ideas put forward by voters.

Voterlobby has for the past 36 years given interested voters control of their society with a stunning portfolio of successes.

Around the world many claimed “democracies” have proven to be dictatorships. In others, electoral results have been questioned. This suggests that electoral results should be independently audited by major accounting firms.

But election results are not of that much interest to Voterlobby voters . They know that whoever is in power, enough MPs are likely to assist them to achieve their goals, provided that they are fair and reasonable towards the population and help those who need to be helped.

Every Australian already has access to a powerful Votergram Voice to every Australian Parliament. By one Votergram, one pharmacist persuaded parliament to introduce cheaper generic medicines for us all.

Others have other ways of influencing government. Bodies like RSPCA, BCA, ACTU lobby for their members. A similar government funded voice for Indigenous Australians would be important and may well need constitutional recognition to be permanent. Votergrams empower all Australians, not just one group.

Legalese
Exact wording of any amendment to our constitution is important, to know exactly what is being done. To hide that for fear of “a fight” over exactly what is proposed would seem dishonest. It could earn lawyers millions in court cases, at our cost.

If we are all to fund and respect The Indigenous Voice we should know who it will represent; how its governing body will be appointed or elected and what power it will have to influence parliament.

In the end the effectiveness of the voice to Parliament depends on the evidence-based logic accompanying any request or suggestion. Parliament always needs to be convinced of the fairness of any requests or suggestions.
Now
But right now the rest of us can urge governments to offer our regional, rural and remote communities, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, the same level and quality of educational facilities, health care, owned housing, childcare, aged care and career opportunities as in capital cities. Cost is not a question in Advancing Australia Fair. The highest earners in Australia currently pay the lowest marginal tax rates.

What we probably can be convinced of in respect of the Indigenous Voice is that it will not use money in the form of political donations to bribe and bully our elected representatives as some other groups do currently.
Democracy puzzle
It is a puzzling aspect of democracy that to achieve a fair go we each have to make our own case to convince the parliament to do what is fair for us. With 17 million voters and 26 million Australians that is the only way it can work. Our elected Parliamentary Representatives cannot be expected to try to think up what we all need, then provide it. We, the people of Australia know what we want and need from our daily experiences in our own communities and contacts, just as Aboriginal community members know best what they want and need.

Votergrams have taken the wishes of thousands of Australians politely and persistently putting them before each politician for the past 36 years. In most cases they have been accepted, like the availability of cheaper generic medicines, suggested by this one wise pharmacist from regional NSW.

Aboriginals surely have a right to a permanent government funded voice, as the British government early Australian governments and many early settlers took all that the Aboriginals had, land, freedom, children, daughters, wives and killed many others. That body should have no more power over government than to convey an Aboriginal viewpoint.

Aboriginals do surely deserve recognition in the constitution as owners of Australia before the British invaded and authorised their murder, rape, kidnapping, enslavement and child abduction.

Fair-minded Aussies do not have to wait for a referendum. They can use their Votergram voices to persuade our governments to rectify past wrongs by bringing the Aboriginal community up to speed with home ownership, health care, education and career opportunities through compensation for what was done to them, to be paid mostly in services.

Votergrams are very persuasive because politicians need to know what we want and why, so they can do what is right. Or they can join Voters Network and build a campaign team to do so.

Greg

Christ had problems with the moneychangers in the temple and Australian banks are making billions and paying executives millions while many of their customers are battling to survive. It is time for bank customers to stand up for a fair go.

“Why would anyone invest their money on term deposit with the major banks at 3.35% when the government also guarantees term deposits placed with Macquarie Bank at 4.1%, AMP at 4.1% and Rabobank at 3.9%”, asks banking consultant GBAC?

With business and farm loans, GBAC offers it’s Loan Apps for borrowers wanting the best rates as well as best  charges and terms to suit the specific enterprise. Bargaining with the banks is the only way that GBAC believes borrowers get  fair go. Brokers serve the interests of the banks that pay them. GBAC and Loan Apps serve the customers because the bank customers pay them – a lot less than the banks pay the brokers.

GBAC invites readers to phone 0428 417 496 to chat about what works best.

Teachers taught writing in the 1940s & ‘50s but cant teach it now!!

A regulated casino is deemed not fit to hold a licence; pays $100m and is allowed to continue operating! Big corruption?

Medicare (taxpayers) robbed of $8 billion1

Political donations and fundraisers deliver favours to donors. Pure corruption! What about 100% government funding, for those who do not accept any other funding

Pork barrelling pleases voters and politicians but disadvantages those in safe electorates! What about a ban on grants in 12 months preceding election?

Federal politicians pass Credit Act to prevent skilled consultants not in the pay of the moneylenders (bankers) from rescuing destitute borrowers facing foreclosure. More corruption!

It can be because voters have failed to direct their parliamentary representatives to Advance Australia Fair, leaving MPs at the mercy of the self-interested and corrupt.

Time to take control voters and guide government through your elected representatives (MPs). Time for Christians to take an active role in  guiding government. Voters Network, FairGO, Votergrams and Voterlobby make that easy and effective. Built on Christ’s teachings

Queen Elizabeth II decided at 25 to serve instead of ruling. That has worked well.

Let us follow suit, because if we serve our country, then it will be a better place for everyone.

Christ set the tone of the Queen’s life by explaining that He came to serve too.

His teachings also provide a brilliant guide to how we can shape a fair and just society.

We, my family and I, heeded His teachings. Votergrams, FairGO, Voterlobby and Voters Network are built on those teachings. Like the house built on rock, they have continued to be successful.

The teachings on which they are built are often seen as related to spiritual matters, but Christ said that He came so that we might live life to the full and that surely meant as people on Earth.

“Ask and you will receive, knock and the door will be opened to you”. Votergrams help individuals to ask the very best people in Australia for help. Those people are the Members of Parliament. If you do not ask them all, there is little hope that they will do what you want. They are not psychic!

The Good Samaritan parable teaches us that we should look after those in need of being looked after. That is as well as looking after ourselves and those for whom we have direct responsibility. Peak bodies and community groups as well as individuals can use Votergrams to great effect to help their members.

In addition FairGO and Voterlobby consultants help people to achieve their goals through polite political persuasion in the relative privacy of parliament.

The parable of the sower is the basis of the success of Votergrams, for they enable people to sow ideas and suggestions throughout parliament. Some never gets read. Some is read and discarded. Some MPs decide to act but get distracted by other jobs. But some MPs pick up the Votergram and act on it. That yields huge results. It helps thousands of people, such as the 35,000 not killed on Australian roads since we used Votergrams from 1987 to force down the road toll, or like the thousands of travellers around the world who don’t any more suffer the impact of passive smoking whilst flying on commercial airlines, thanks to a Seventh Day Adventist Votergram campaign to ban smoking on Australian commercial airlines.

The parable of the woman knocking on the judge’s door to get justice and getting it, not because he wanted to help her but because he wanted her to stop knocking, teaches us to be persistent with Votergram campaigns and not stop until the objective is achieved. Cutting the road toll took 20 years.

Christ urged us to pray to God in private rather than in public so that God answers our prayers in private. In the same way our Votergrams communicate in private with every MP in the privacy of parliament. Public protests and strikes embarrass the government MPs, making them look “wrong” or dishonest. Public humiliation tends to make most of us react to justify what we have been doing and so protests and strikes make MPs defend their present practices, which is exactly the opposite of what the strikers or protesters want.

Christ said that with faith we could move mountains. I don’t suppose He was desperately keen to see mountains being moved around. Rather it was a figure of speech that said if you believe you can , you probably can and if you believe you can’t, you probably can’t. I remember being told that cutting the road toll was impossible, but with faith I was able to reduce it from 17 per 100,000 to 5 per 100,000. I had faith that Parliamentarians could change the laws, driver education, enforcement, influence trucking industry behaviour and design of cars and roads; faith that killing was not a necessary part of driving. When government was determined to do nothing about the killings, I campaigned in one marginal seat at a by-election and the government lost the seat. Then it decided to listen and gradually started to act on cutting the road toll. I persisted for 20 years as the toll continued to fall. I stopped then from lack of support and resources at 5 killed per 100,000 and the decline stopped there too.

I doubt that many Christians have realised how much Christ’s teachings can inform us about the unknown secrets of democracy. Many people believe that it brings “fair, just government for the benefit of the people” but are angry that it is not doing that. They do not realise that it will only happen if they follow Christ’s advice to make it happen. A fair and just society does not rest with God. God has given us all the tools and lessons to make it fair and just.  It is up to us to make it happen. For Christians that means serving our fellow Australians with the knowledge Christ has given to us. Democracy gives us the best chance at “fairness and justice” but they do not come automatically. Leaders are  just as self-interested as they ever were. But in democracy we can exchange votes for fairness and withdraw them if it is denied. That is usually not needed. Politicians want to help when asked nicely.

Christians in other countries may also be able to achieve the same results as long as they realise that it requires carrots and sticks to make it work. “Speak quietly but carry a big stick” is the guiding phrase. The big stick is a willingness to put party politics aside and campaign in a marginal electorate against the government if it will not do what is required to make the society “fair and just for all”. It is easy, but requires some good strategies, including not criticising the government at all. For Christ also taught that it is the words that come out of our mouths that can cause harm.

Let’s do what we can to serve our country well and reap the rewards along with others.

The best time to influence government is when it has decided to do what you want. If the new Federal Government has announced it will do what you want, now is the time to send your Votergrams.
Ride the wave and persuade all politicians to support the government in doing it. Votergrams.com.au . Your voice to parliament!

Ask and there is a good chance you will receive. Sow the seeds of ideas widely and some will grow.

Don’t wait until it it’s too late and parliament has rejected it.
The difference between Voters Network and other bodies who have followed us into the political persuasion space since we started the Votergram service in 1986, is that most of them have a particular agenda and want your support for it.
Voters Network on the other hand is there for you to achieve your agenda if it fits broadly into the category of giving everyone a fair go. We exist for your initiatives and we empower you to achieve your objectives with the help of parliament.
That is what you elect and pay it for, after all. Parliamentarians are the most helpful and powerful people in Australia. Make the most of that!

 

Nurses know how to care for sick people. They apparently don’t know how to influence government in a democracy.

Strikes are blunt instruments that offend rather than persuade the very people from whom they want support, the patients and MPs.

Pharmacists scored $1.5 billion a year by Votergram.  Psychologists got their money from Telehealth in 5 days by Votergram. Smoking was banned on commercial airlines thanks to Votergrams. Domestic violence has been tackled for years thanks in part to Votergrams.

What would fix government nursing policy problems is a good shot in the arm of electoral logic, an explanation of what the nurses need and why and the threat of harsher treatment in the marginal areas if need be.

Nurses are giving the treatment to the wrong people in the wrong way. They need to talk to those who can say “Yes” (MPs) instead of those who can say “No” (bureaucrats) and do it through polite, persistent logic-based political persuasion in the privacy of parliament, rather than by public protest.

If some of the 73,000 nurses put their “voter’s hats” on to deliver a strong dose of strategically prescribed Votergrams, their association is likely to be pleasantly surprised. Individual nurses vote in elections. Their association does not so it needs their support and patient support to add strength to its arguments. Votergrams are by far the most cost-effective way to do that.

That is why I started Votergrams in 1986. It gives every Australian a very effective voice to each member of every parliament in Australia on any issue of interest. Democracy is a magic system of government. Voters just have to use it properly.