A broad coalition of grassroots groups from across the nation will today roll out campaign infrastructure in case the postal plebiscite goes ahead, aiming to facilitate more than half a million calls in support of equality over the coming weeks.

Partners include The Equality Campaign, just.equal, Sydney Mardi Gras and GetUp; as well as PFLAG, Equal Love and Rainbow Rights WA here in Perth.

Supporters of marriage equality across Australia will be connected via an online campaign hub – yes.org.au – to engage with other ‘Yes’ voters about how they can get involved in the campaign and build support in their local community.

The website will allow people all over Australia to make phone calls to Yes voters, knock doors and attend Yes events – in a group or by themselves – with a goal of securing a Yes victory in the postal plebiscite.

Volunteers signing up through yes.org.au will be speaking directly to other Yes voters – over the phone, at the front door, at stalls and events and community meetings – encouraging them to return their postal ballots on the day they receive them.

Experience shows that one-on-one conversations between people is the most effective way to win over hearts and minds. More than two thirds of Australians support marriage equality, and we will be empowering them to share their personal stories with all Australians.

More than 20 grassroots community groups have already signed up as partners of the decentralised Calling for Equality effort, run through yes.org.au

“This will be the biggest push for marriage equality that Australia has ever seen and will be uniting people with conversations about their friends, family members, neighbours and team mates who they will be voting for,” said Tiernan Brady, Executive Director, The Equality Campaign.

“From Gerringong to Toowoomba and Broome to Burnie, we are supporting grassroots campaigns to connect with ‘Yes’ voters in the local communities and empowering them to have conversations with friends and neighbours about voting ‘Yes’ for fairness and equality,” said Alex Greenwich of The Equality Campaign.

“Grassroots organisations, groups of friends and marriage equality supporters across the country have already registered phone banking events using the yes.org.au calling technology. We don’t want this plebiscite to go ahead, but if it does these volunteers are going to do everything they can to achieve marriage equality”, said GetUp Marriage Equality Director Sally Rugg.

The campaign will run phone bank events across the nation between now and the end of the campaign with local events up and running from Nowra to Perth starting this weekend.

OIP Staff