LETTER WRITING GUIDE

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Coleen Harrell
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1 LETTER WRITING GUIDE Please see the guide below for writing a letter to politicians regarding Penny Sharpe s Exclusion Zones Bill. This bill would put in place 150-metre exclusion zones around all abortion clinics in NSW, making it illegal to express pro-life opinions anywhere inside those zones. Anyone found guilty could be fined up to $16,500 or imprisoned for up to 12 months. Read the entire guide before writing a letter. Please ensure that you start at a different point in the list so that each politician receives a similar number of letters. The list includes politicians from a variety of parties and a variety of voting intentions on this bill. There is no need to research the politician s voting intentions as you should be writing the letter as though you EXPECT the MLC to vote against the bill. We are writing to all MLCs except for those who are members of the Greens and Penny Sharpe herself. Please also write to your local MP (in the Lower House) as this bill will be debated there if it passes the Upper House, possibly very soon afterwards. Take some time to draft your first letter. Once you have a letter that you re happy with, rewrite this as many times as possible to as many politicians as possible. However, please aim to write to at least one MLC and your local MP. 1. Address envelope (include return the sender address on back) 2. Salutation (written on List of Members of the Legislative Council below) 3. Introduce yourself Name Occupation Say that you re writing in regards to the Summary Offences Amendment (Safe Access to Reproductive Health Clinics) Bill Personal story - explain how this issue affects you. Choose one of the areas below: Pregnancy if you, or a friend has been pregnant. Talk about your experience, especially the doubts and pressures that are natural with any pregnancy, and explain why pregnant mothers need all the support they can get to keep their baby. Lawyers explain how a bill forbidding expressing pro-life views in a specific public place is a bad (and potentially unconstitutional) law. Refer to the Bob Brown case below. University students university campuses are often more restrictive of free speech than society in general. Young women, and especially students, are of course more likely to have an abortion so it is important for politicians to hear directly from you. Health professionals if you re a doctor or a health professional, comment on your experiences with pregnant patients, especially abortion-minded or unsure women.

2 Abortion experience if you, or someone close to you has had first-hand experience of the way abortion clinics treat women. Explain that women do not receive adequate counselling, are pushed towards abortion and are rushed through without the support they need. First-hand experience if you, or someone you know, has ever attended a prayer vigil. Explain exactly what it is you do (pray quietly, offer support & practical assistance) and what you don t (shout, threaten, use violent imagery). Remember that most politicians will only have heard the negative stereotypes and won t be aware of what people at the vigils are actually doing. 5. Why you want this MLC / MLA to vote no (choose one of the following lines of reasoning) Offering women a genuine choice Abortion clinics don t offer women genuine counselling. Abortion clinics exist to perform abortions. They are a business which sells abortions. Numerous women have given evidence that they felt rushed and pressured into opting for a termination. (You can refer to the example of Jaya below) It should be legal to offer a woman an alternative to abortion, especially when post-abortive women are saying there felt like they had no other option. No-one is being harassed or forced here they are being offered a genuine choice that they may have never heard of before. This bill would make a bad law This is not about your views on abortion this bill is bad law-making, plain and simple. It s criminalising little old grannies for standing on the street and quietly saying the rosary. It s asking police to arrest people for their opinions, even when they are completely peaceful, quiet and otherwise law-abiding citizens. It s probably unconstitutional too. (refer to the Bob Brown case below) Why is the Coalition allowing Labor to dictate its policing policy? (only use this point when writing to Liberal or National politicians) Why does this bill only apply to abortion clinics, and not to anywhere else where there might be protests? There is no evidence of harassment or intimidating behaviour The law already gives the police all the powers they need to stop harassment, intimidation or violence. Those are all terms with legal definitions and they re already not allowed in NSW. If it really is the case that women are being harassed entering abortion clinics, then where is the hard evidence of that? Where are the police reports by abortion clinics, or at least some video footage online? How many arrests, prosecutions and successful convictions have there been of people outside NSW abortion clinics in the last 20 years?

3 6. Case studies use these (in your own words) where appropriate to back up your points. They are all 100% factual stories that have received mainstream news coverage: In 2014 a bill was passed in Tasmania which made it illegal to protest against deforestation on business premises. When former Greens leader Bob Brown was arrested under this Act, he appealed on the grounds that the anti-protest law violated his constitutional right to freedom of political expression. On 17th October 2017 the High Court ruled in his favour, deeming the Tasmanian anti-protest law unconstitutional. If it is unconstitutional to ban the Greens leader from protesting outside a forestry company, then surely a law banning pro-lifers from merely standing outside an abortion clinic must also be unconstitutional? In March 2017 the NRL was shaken by two separate, shocking allegations involving players who coerced their girlfriends into undergoing abortions, according to The Daily Telegraph. One of these women was Jaya Taki, who is the ex-partner of Tim Simona. I was coerced into an abortion. I d like to say forced, Ms Taki said. She described the counselling session at the abortion clinic as brief and business-like. I remember thinking, please ask me more questions. Please ask me if this is my choice... I was hoping she d say this woman cannot have an abortion. Instead she gave me an envelope and said, Make sure you put your money in there and keep that because that s your code for the Medicare Rebate. You ll want that, it s about $31. Ms Taki has experienced having an abortion, a miscarriage and is the mother of a beautiful six-year-old daughter. She said I can tell you that there is only one thing that has liberated me as a woman, and that is being a mother. Aisha Chithira died after an abortion at a Marie Stopes clinic in Ealing, London, in She suffered "extensive internal bleeding" but was discharged despite vomiting and swaying so much that the taxi driver who collected her said she looked "drunk". An inquest is currently ongoing and the case has been reported in the Daily Mail. However, Ealing Council just voted to put an "exclusion zone" in place around the clinic, banning pro-lifers from standing outside and offering support. This is part of an ongoing campaign supported by Marie Stopes. If anyone near the clinic opposes abortion, they will now only be allowed to stand in a designated area further away from the clinic. The Council stated this was on account of claims of harassment however, they confirmed that pro-lifers will still not be allowed to harass people from this new zones, because harassment is (quite rightly) still illegal there and anywhere else. But if harassment is already illegal then why move pro-lifers further away? Why has there not been a single attempt to prosecute any pro-lifer there for harassment? Could it be because there hasn t been any? 7. Explain that this is an important issue that means a lot to you and will influence how you will vote in the next election. 8. Rewrite this letter as many times as possible, remembering to use the correct salutation and address the envelope correctly.

4 NOTES ABOUT LETTER WRITING DO Use different coloured paper and pens to the other people you are writing with (politicians will know if all the letters are coming from the same group of people) Handwrite in blue or black pen. MUCH more effective than typed letters. Use emotive personal stories Proofread your letter before sending Write one high quality letter and re-write to send to as many politicians as possible Make your writing as clear as possible DON T Just talk about the rights and wrongs of abortion. Focus more a) on the right of women to make an informed choice, or b) the fact that this is a badly written and unnecessary law Make claims you can t back up Use religious arguments Use the same letter as a friend (politicians know if they are receiving the same letter from multiple people)

5 LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL (MLCs) Here is a list of all 36 Members of the Legislative Council (not including Penny Sharpe and the 5 Greens MLCs who are guaranteed to support this bill). Please write to as many MLCs as you can, asking them to vote against Penny Sharpe's extreme, unneccessary and authoritarian Bill. You can find a template letter on the back of this list. Name Position Salutation (Dear...) Phone The Hon. John Ajaka MLC President of the Legislative Council of NSW Mr Ajaka john.ajaka@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Lou Amato MLC Member of the Legislative Council Mr Amato lou.amato@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Niall Blair MLC Minister for Primary Industries, Minister for Regional Water, and Minister for Trade and Industry Minister niall.blair@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Robert Borsak MLC Member of the Legislative Council Mr Borsak robert.borsak@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Robert Brown MLC Member of the Legislative Council Mr Brown robert.brown@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. David Clarke MLC Parliamentary Secretary for Justice Mr Clarke david.clarke@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Rick Colless MLC Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources and Western NSW Mr Colless rick.colless@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Catherine Cusack MLC Parliamentary Secretary for Digital Inclusion Ms Cusack catherine.cusack@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Greg Donnelly MLC Deputy Opposition Whip in the Legislative Council Mr Donnelly greg.donnelly@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Wes Fang MLC Deputy Government Whip in the Legislative Council Mr Fang wes.fang@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Scott Farlow MLC Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier (Leader of the House) in the Mr Farlow Legislative Council scott.farlow@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Ben Franklin MLC Parliamentary Secretary for Renewable Energy and Northern NSW Mr Franklin ben.franklin@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. John Graham MLC Member of the Legislative Council Mr Graham john.graham@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Paul Green MLC Temporary Chair of Committees Mr Green paul.green@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Don Harwin MLC Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, Minister for Minister the Arts, and Vice-President of the Executive Council don.harwin@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Courtney Houssos MLC Member of the Legislative Council Mrs Houssos courtney.houssos@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Trevor Khan MLC Deputy President and Chair of Committees Mr Khan trevor.khan@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) Mr Scot MacDonald MLC Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, the Central Coast and the Hunter Mr MacDonald scot.macdonald@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Natasha Maclaren-Jones MLC Government Whip in the Legislative Council Mrs Maclaren-Jones natasha.maclaren-jones@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Shayne Mallard MLC Temporary Chair of Committees Mr Mallard shayne.mallard@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Taylor Martin MLC Member of the Legislative Council Mr Martin taylor.martin@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Matthew Mason-Cox MLC Member of the Legislative Council Mr Mason-Cox matthew.mason-cox@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Sarah Mitchell MLC Minister for Early Childhood Education, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and Assistant Minister for Education Minister sarah.mitchell@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Daniel Mookhey MLC Member of the Legislative Council Mr Mookhey daniel.mookhey@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane MLC Opposition Whip in the Legislative Council Mr Moselmane shaoquett.moselmane@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile MLC Assistant President Reverend Nile F.Nile@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Mark Pearson MLC Member of the Legislative Council Mr Pearson mark.pearson@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps MLC Member of the Legislative Council Dr Phelps peter.phelps@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) The Hon. Peter Primrose MLC Shadow Minister for Local Government Mr Primrose peter.primrose@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02)

The Hon. Adam Searle MLC Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Mr Searle adam.searle@parliament.nsw.gov.au (02) 9230 2160 The Hon.

6 The Hon. Adam Searle MLC Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Mr Searle (02) The Hon. Walt Secord MLC Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Mr Secord (02) The Hon. Bronnie Taylor MLC Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier and Southern NSW Mrs Taylor (02) The Hon. Mick Veitch MLC Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Shadow Minister for Lands, and Shadow Minister for Western NSW Mr Veitch (02) The Hon. Lynda Voltz MLC Shadow Minister for Sport, and Shadow Minister for Veterans Affairs Ms Voltz (02) The Hon. Natalie Ward MLC Member of the Legislative Council Ms Ward (02) The Hon. Ernest Wong MLC Temporary Chair of Committees Mr Wong (02) The address for all MLCs is: Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 To: The Hon. Catherine Cusack MLC Parliamentary Secretary for Digital Inclusion Parliament House Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000 TEMPLATE LETTER Dear Ms Cusack, I am writing to you to ask you to vote against Penny Sharpe's exclusion zones bill because Yours sincerely, Jane Smith

POLICY NOTE, May 2018: Public Health Amendment (Safe Access to Reproductive Health Clinics) Bill 2018

POLICY NOTE, May 2018: Public Health Amendment (Safe Access to Reproductive Health Clinics) Bill 2018 Executive summary The implementation of 150-metre safe access zones is unnecessary given the operation