GetUp’s Election Failure May 2019

Where to now for GetUp?

Where to indeed! Many voters now want GetUp to GET OUT of the political process and to stop harrassing them in their homes and on the polling booths at election time.

GetUP election failure

The recent Federal Election was a monumental failure for GetUp. They promoted manufactured grievances, created confected outrage and set about demonising ‘people’ like Tony Abbott, to destroy their reputations and their chances of re-election. Their $ 4million election campaign running a complimentary ticket to Labor and the Greens fooled very few! GetUp is now doing some much needed naval-gazing and soul-searching.

GetUp’s preparations for the election were well funded and resourced

GetUp’s election campaigns began over 12 months ago when their call to remove the ‘hard-right’ politicians in Canberra, began in earnest (1)

GetUp set their sights on sixteen(16) conservative politicians, with Tony Abbott tagged as ‘enemy #1’ followed closely by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton (2,3)

For 12 months GetUp trained their ‘true-believers’ ( GetUp Gullibles?) to door knock thousands of homes and make phone calls to residences. Altogether these willing but misguided volunteers door knocked 36,315 homes, made 712,039 unsolicited phone calls and recruited 9,433 volunteers. Not a bad effort for a group using deceit to create division and hatred for others. Donations flooded in to stop the ‘hard-right’ and volunteers formed local cells to mobilize at election time. GetUp was ‘armed and ready for battle’ with US-style sales scripts for volunteers, pushing a manufactured platform of disadvantage in public health and private housing. Their January 2019 survey of members listed the top federal election issues as:

Pushing for urgent action on climate change and stopping Adani;
Super charging the transition to solar and wind;
Securing an immediate release for refugees on Manus and Nauru;
Ensuring Medicare, schools and other services were adequately funded;
Protecting ‘their’ ABC and SBS .
Kicking out powerful, hard-right MPs who are holding the country back on the issues they cared about.

So, how well did they go?

GetUp’s massive ‘cash-splash’ and army of true believers was evident- but ended up being ineffective.

It is reported that GetUp spent between $3-$4 million on advertising for the federal election. In the electorate of Dickson, 1,556 volunteers and $1.2 million was used in a bitter and deceitful campaign to unseat Home Affairs Minister, Peter Dutton. It failed. Peter Dutton retained his seat on a 2.5% increased margin against GetUp’s massive spend and army of true believers. In comparison, Rite-ON! ran a full campaign in the same electorate, covering pre-polling and the top 10 booths on election day, on a budget of $20,000, 20 booth volunteers, a comprehensive Social Media campaign against Labor’s taxes, and series of Robocalls exposing GetUp. The Rite-ON! campaign proved highly efficient and effective in waking people up to Shorten’s taxes and to GetUp’s un-Australian and deceitful campaign.

GetUp’s ‘Ditch Dutton’ campaign and Labor’s unfair taxes were strongly rejected by voters at the ballot box.

Rite-ON! HTV cards had the message; ‘Vote to stop Shorten’, and signs that displayed Labor’s proposed taxes. We are advised that our presence on the booths infuriated GetUp who believed voters were getting ‘confused’ by the presence of another ‘Third-Party’. Did they want the stage only for themselves?

The team at Rite-ON! included donors, data analysts, supporters, booth workers, social media experts, and an IT specialist. Together they created and promoted HTV cards for 151 electorates and state senates.

The majority of voters rejected Labor’s bad policies, and turned away from GetUp’s personal vicious attack on Peter Dutton. Rite-ON! contributed to Peter Dutton’s electoral success and we thank our many supporters and volunteers for their tireless efforts.

Can GetUp still claim they are independent?

GetUp’s HTV card directed voters to vote Labor or the Greens. They happily teamed up with their allies (Labor and the Greens) and one GetUp volunteer was even snapped with a Greens Party corflute tucked securely under his arm. GetUp’s claims they are an ‘independent organization’ is impossible for most to believe, yet the AEC still classifies them as such- despite exhaustive evidence that shows GetUp is clearly aligned to the extreme political-left! Is it time for the AEC to reconsider this classification? (4,5,6,7)

GetUp spends millions, mobilizes thousands – but still fails. (8)

One would expect that door knocking 36,315 homes, making 712,039 unsolicited phone calls and recruiting 9,433 volunteers would produce results. GetUp’s election results, however, were abysmal claiming only one political scalp; Tony Abbott in Warringah, and this after a prolonged and nasty personal attack on the former PM. GetUp Director Paul Oosting called this abysmal result a ‘big achievement’ (9) but we beg to differ while others are openly questioning their effectiveness. (10)

Miranda Devine said:

“Warringah was lost because Liberal voters executed a one-time only surgical strike against an MP, they perceived to be a danger to the Liberal Party. ‘Quiet Australians’, as Scott Morrison referred to them on election night, opted for a mercy killing. No malice involved.”

GetUp’s ‘fair-go’ for all, did not include the ‘hard-right’ politicians they targeted with deliberately despicable and personally damaging campaigns. (11) Australians are apparently better than their campaign of hate and division and voted accordingly. (12)

Are GetUp’s values and agenda at odds with mainstream Australia?

Amanda Tattersall, one of the original co-founders of GetUp and a researcher at the University of Sydney said; “I think for GetUp this is going to be a moment for both celebrating a tremendous campaign with some victories but also sitting down and doing some serious reflecting and learning about how to create the kind of innovative campaigns that will be required to transition our economy and our democracy.”

In the wake of the election result should Amanda Tattersall explain their agenda of ‘a transition model for the economy and democracy’ Is GetUp’s agenda to force socialism on our democratic nation?

Mainstream Australia voted in the federal election for; opportunity, freedom, aspiration, inspiration and, reward for effort. If Ms Tattersall and GetUp are proposing a progressive- left socialist agenda, Australia has just spoken very loudly- NO!

Standing on the booths for several weeks in Peter Dutton’s electorate of Dickson gave our volunteers a good introduction to GetUp’s tactics; calling our volunteers ‘racists’ and our HTV cards ‘racists-cards’.

At the same time, they watched many refugees and overseas born Australians, walk up to Peter Dutton and shake his hand, thanking him for giving them an opportunity for life in Australia, yet still GetUp’s people called him a heartless and racist hard-right politician. Is there a better way for GetUp?

GetUp are still ‘licking their wounds’

Failed GetUp campaign Here is part of GetUp’s latest email from the crestfallen Emily: “For the last two weeks, every report of extreme weather or unseasonal conditions has felt like a slap in the face. Every time I turn on ABC breakfast radio there’s this faint worry that our national broadcaster now has an expiry date. And every day, people I love are grappling with another three years of a government ready to score cheap political points by attacking them for the colour of their skin, who they pray to, their gender, or who they love.
I’m so keen to get back to work fighting for the change that matters.
But first, we need to take some time to figure out what happened, and where everybody is at.

Emily’s emotional email suggests Australia is a nation of racists, homophobes and environmental vandals. Has this young employee forgotten Australia voted for SSM in 2017, our nation has taken in many at-risk refugees of all colours, and extreme weather events are yet to be fully ascribed to anthropogenic causes? (Question for Emily; Australia emits just 1.3% of all global emissions. How can Australia change the global temperature on 1.3% while nations like India and China are increasing their emissions? )

We believe soul-searching is good!

Do we need an overseas-funded (up until 1 Jan 2019), extreme-left activist group using American-style, cult-like techniques to brainwash well-meaning people – telling blatant lies to emotionally motivate their supporters to push for unwelcome changes to our democratic processes? One million well-meaning, but misguided supporters have donated and promoted GetUp’s platform of hatred, bigotry, and lies. For every problem a constant remedy is; ‘Chip in $12’. This to help solve every perceived grievance they create, while their bank account grows.

Peter Dutton

Peter Dutton, who was one target of their extreme hate campaigns said, “GetUp may get what is coming through the parliamentary process”. We agree. (13)

Has GetUp reached it’s ‘use-by-date’?

With an annual revenue of $13m and running costs of $5.7m could this money be better spent supporting the people and issues GetUp champion? Is there a better way for GetUp volunteers to positively contribute to mainstream society?

Donating their annual revenue of $13m to Australia’s 105,000 homeless (14), farmers who are struggling with years of drought, mental illness programs, struggling families and to assisting new arrivals get jobs, would prove their purported objectives were indeed honest and well meaning. Instead of harassing people on the phone or at their front doors, demonising people and causing untold mental anguish to them, their families and friends, efforts by their well-meaning (but misguided) volunteers could achieve REAL results if directed elsewhere!

Has GetUp reached its ‘use-by-date’ and struggling to find relevance in a changed political landscape where voters have woken up to GetUp? In the recent federal election, voters chose fairness, truthfulness ,and a fair go for all, and GetUp was given ‘the proverbial flick’.

WHAT can you do?

Share this article with your friends
Don’t get ‘taken-in’ by GetUp!
Write to the Assistant Minister for Electoral Matters, The Hon Senator Zed Seselja, and ask that GetUp’s classification as an independent organization under Part XX of the Electoral Act, Subsection 287(1) of the Electoral Act be reviewed. Email the Senator here: seselja@aph.gov.au.

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