First of all, never
think that one person (e.g. yourself) "doesn't matter" or "won't count"
when it comes to taking action. Everyone pulling in the same direction
will have a huge effect.
Down load and print
out our petition form, get as many copies as you can filled in and send
it back to us at:- "Bus Action Committee", 77 Orion Road, Woodhill, Qld.
4285.
Down load and print
out our A4 poster, from our "poster" page. Use it at your local school,
child-care centre, work place, library, shopping centre announcement board
or anywhere you can think of where it would be noticed
Arrange a public
meeting in your own locality and form your own "Bus Action Committee".
Get your own web page together and link it to ours.
Pass on our web site
address and/or copies of our poster to two (or more) of your friends -
and ask them to pass it on to two (or more) of their friends. The
mathematics of this strategy is overwhelming e.g. 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64,
128, 254, 508, 1016, 2032, 4064, 8128, 16254, 32508 and on into infinity
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Take out a small
ad in the "Public Notices" section of your local paper, saying something
like:- "Kids use the school bus? Worried about
standees, crowding and no seatbelts? Contact the Bus Action Committee".
You can then add your contact details, our contact details and this web
page address. An ad like that in your local paper would not cost
more than a few dollars. Maybe a group of parents could get together,
with one family paying for a small ad every 3 or 4 weeks or so. You
could also contact your local paper and/or radio station about these issues
and ask them to write an article or do a radio interview . If you
give them this web page address they would have an instant resource.
If you felt shy about doing a radio interview, give us a ring on the telephone
numbers listed at the end of the page - we'd be happy to do it for you.
This is especially useful if you're forming your own "Bus Action Committee"
with a local public meeting. Let us know what you're doing - we'd
love to hear about it!
Make sure the news
letter of your school, child care centre and workplace carries some information
about the "Bus Action Committee" and our web page address.
Contact the Minister
for Transport, Mr. Stephen Bredhauer, with your concerns. You can
phone him on (07) 3237 1949 or fax him on (07) 3224 4242 or write to him
at GPO Box 2644, Brisbane, Qld 4001. You can e-mail him from here
on [email protected]
. Make it clear that you will not vote for a Government that ignores
our children's safety. Ask him questions. Tell him about your
campaign plans. The "Bus Action Committee" would be interested in the answers
you receive, since we have questions to the Minister outstanding for almost
8 weeks.
You can also contact
the Premier, Mr. Peter Beattie. You can phone him on (07) 3224 4500
or fax him on (07) 3221 3631 or write to him at PO Box 185, Albert Street,
Brisbane, Qld. 4002. You can also e-mail him from here on [email protected]
Again, you should make it clear that you will not vote for a Government
that ignores our children's safety.
Contact your local
member about your concerns, especially if you live in one of the marginal
areas listed on our "campaign" page. All their phone numbers, fax
numbers, addresses and e-mail links are listed on the "campaign" page.
If you can see from our list that they've not responded to letters from
the "Bus Action Committee" - ask them why. Make them commit to an
opinion and ask them questions. In fact, whatever electoral seat
you live in, you can e-mail your local member by typing in the name of
your local electorate (use a capital letter to start), followed by @parliament.qld.gov.au
If your local electorate's name is made up of two words e.g. "Barron River",
then type in the e-mail address like this [email protected]
Listen out for news.
Channel 9's "A Current Affair" will be taking this issue on in the near
future. You will also be hearing through national and state press.
You are also likely to hear more about us on the radio. You will
also be hearing through your local P & C association, as well as in
various other ways. We will also be keeping this web page updated
with all new developments. As soon as an election is called, the
"Bus Action Committee" will also be taking out weekly full-page ads in
the local newspapers of all targeted marginal areas - asking people to
"vote for our children's lives - don't vote for any Government that refuses
to seat and belt our kids on the school bus".
We will also be taking
our concerns directly, personally and physically to Parliament. Keep
tuned into this web page to find out when this will be going ahead.
We also need people
to campaign, especially in the targeted marginal areas, but it's also important
to lobby in your own local areas, even if you don't live in one of the
19 seats we've listed on our "campaign" page. We are really open
to any ideas and suggestions that you have e.g. be creative, be angry,
be innovative, think about things that have worked in other campaigns,
lend us any special skills and/or experience you have, send us your letters,
phone us, e-mail us, give us
useful information. Suggest any ways in which we can use music, art,
writing, sport, competitions and/or drama (or anything else we haven't
thought of) - lend us your skills if you have any in those areas, or any
other area that you think could be of use. Even if you think you
don't have any special skill, something like putting up a stall at your
local market/shopping centre would be great. Don't hold back - this
is the campaign that will save some very precious lives.
A whole community pulling together can move a mountain.
The Transport Minister's most senior policy advisor told the "Bus Action
Committee" that nothing we could do would make a difference -
I know the people of Queensland will show him how MUCHthey
can "make a difference". How dare our political masters assume that
we're not prepared to fight like tigers to defend what is most precious
in our lives!
If you have accessed
this page from the USA, it would be useful if you could leave your comments.
School bus safety standards are much higher in your country. If you're
shocked and concerned, please tell us. If you have any useful resources
and/or links for us, please pass them on. In fact, any comments/help
from anywhere in the world would be appreciated.
Contact the "Bus
Action Committee" by phoning Kim Limburg on (07) 3806 8181 Mobile:-
0412 309835 or Kim Bax on (07) 5543 1796.
