Protecting Australia’s gun safety laws

The Australian Gun Safety Alliance (AGSA) is a broad coalition of voices representing the interests of the community in ensuring that we maintain vigilance on issues of gun safety.

Issue

When the Impact Fund supported the establishment of AGSA in 2017, the gun lobby in Australia was gaining influence in the debate over gun safety legislation. Without a strong alternative voice to that lobby, there was a real risk that Australia’s gun safety protections would be watered down. 

Response

Founding members of AGSA recognised that a national response was required to counter this threat and sought to build a national coalition of broad-based community and professional organisations to advocate for the protection of Australia’s gun safety framework. Initial members articulated a clear vision and approach for organisations to work together on the issue, and engaged in a series of discussions with organisations with an aligned interest in gun safety, leading to the formation of the Australian Gun Safety Alliance.

Progress update

UPDATED MARCH 2022

• The establishment of a strong, broad-based Alliance to advocate for gun safety: AGSA is now made up of over 30 organisations across Australia and acts as a strong and recognised voice for gun safety. 
• Influencing policy dialogue and debate: AGSA is now a recognised gun safety voice at the policy table and is influencing policy decisions, including the implementation of a permanent National Firearm Amnesty in 2021.

What the Impact Fund’s support means

“We bring those voices to the table when it comes to firearm safety, and we will forever be thankful to the Impact Fund community, who saw an opportunity to take this need off the page and into action.” – Stephen Bendle, Convenor, AGSA

Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund

Grants

• 2017 Large Grants round: $70,000 for seed funding (over two years)
• 2020 ‘Supporting Our Partners’ Covid-19 Agile Grant: $20,000 in core funding

Uniting Australians to support the LGBTIQ+ community

Equality Australia (EA) exists to improve the wellbeing and circumstances of LGBTIQ+ people in Australia and their families. More specifically, EA works to reduce the stigma and discrimination LGBTIQ+ people face, and to advance and promote equality and inclusion.

Marriage equality

ISSUE

In August 2017, the Federal Government announced the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey – a national survey designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia.

RESPONSE

The Equality Campaign quickly emerged as a broad coalition of Australians working to secure a Yes vote. The Human Rights Law Centre, where Equality Australia’s Founding CEO Anna Brown was working at the time, was central in ensuring the passage of legislation to deliver marriage equality. Equality Australia was born out of this work.

Religious Discrimination Bill

ISSUE

The proposed Religious Discrimination Bill was supposed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religious belief or activity (including having no religious belief or refusing to engage in religious activity) in certain areas of public life, such as employment, education and the provision of goods and services.

But the Bill that was drafted threatened to undermine inclusive workplaces, schools and access to services like healthcare without judgement. Laws which should protect religious people from discrimination would have been used to hand a licence to discriminate against LGBTIQ+ people, women, people with disability, and others.

RESPONSE

In 2019, Equality Australia began working in close partnership with businesses, community organisations, and individual advocates to make sure that laws in the name of religion protect people of faith without winding back protections from discrimination for LGBTIQ+ people,  women, and people with disability.

Progress update

UPDATED MARCH 2022

• Marriage equality achieved
• Religious Discrimination Bill shelved indefinitely

What the Impact Fund’s support means

“It is really wonderful to have funders like the Impact Fund community who understand that to protect equality we need the freedom to respond swiftly to the political landscape.” – Anna Brown, CEO, Equality Australia

Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund

Grants

• 2017 Agile Grant: $25,000 for YES campaign
• 2018 Agile Grant: $15,000 for All Schools, Same Rules campaign
• 2021 Agile Grant: $37,000 for Freedom for Discrimination campaign (Religious Discrimination Bill)

Protecting people from gambling harm

The Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR) is a national advocacy organisation which works to prevent and minimise the harm from gambling. AGR’s aim is to remove the shame that surrounds gambling addiction, have the problem treated as a public health issue, and achieve the legislative changes needed to protect communities.

Issue

The harm caused by gambling impacts people and communities in many different ways. There are around 500,000 people in Australia who are experiencing high or severe levels of harm from gambling. On average, these people lose $21,000 a year.

Poker machine gambling continues to be the largest contributor to gambling harm, resulting in losses of more than $12 billion every year.

Response

In late 2016, AGR secured a powerful win in their campaign to reduce harm from poker machine gambling. After sustained campaigning, Coles announced that they would implement a trial to limit the maximum bet to $1 on its poker machines in South Australia and Queensland. Shortly after, the Impact Fund came on as an early supporter to help AGR leverage the momentum that was building at the time.

Through the Pokies Play You campaign, AGR is reframing gambling as a public health issue and supporting brands and AFL clubs to divest from the poker machine industry.

Progress update

UPDATED MARCH 2022

• Coles and Woolworths supermarkets and nine AFL clubs have divested from the poker machine industry.

What the Impact Fund’s support means

“Impact Funders are willing to back risky ideas and uncertain paths to advance social change… the Impact Fund community understood our vision from the beginning.” – Tony Mohr, Executive Director (2016–20), AGR

Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund

Grants

• 2017 Large Grants round: $60,000 for Pokies Play You campaign
• 2020 ‘Supporting Our Partners’ Covid-19 Agile Grant: $25,000 in core funding

Protecting country and culture through Indigenous land management

The Country Needs People (CNP) campaign is a growing group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians calling on decision-makers to:

1. Double the number of Indigenous rangers.
2. Create a fund for ranger training, capacity building, networking and capital costs.
3. Double the funding for the Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) program. 
4. Ensure equal employment opportunities for women rangers by 2030. 

CNIP is a growing alliance of over 41 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land and sea management organisations, Country Needs People Ltd and over 100,000 Australians.

Issue

Traditional land management practices on Country reinforce communities’ connection to land and culture, contribute to individual and community wellbeing, provide a source of employment, and promote landscape health and sustainability. While Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) were introduced nearly 25 years ago, the lack of a coherent policy or funding framework meant communities long struggled to secure enough long-term funding to support land and sea management. 

Response

CNP has worked to build cross-partisan support to maintain and increase funding for Indigenous land and sea management. Furthermore, CNP has undertaken research to demonstrate the environmental and community benefit associated with traditional land management, and supported communities to apply for the protection of traditional lands under IPAs.

Progress update

UPDATED MARCH 2022

• Over $800 million in government funding secured to support 80 Indigenous ranger groups, including a commitment from the Federal Government of $102 million indexed annually between 2021 and 2028, and commitments from state governments in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
• Model being adapted internationally: The Land Needs Guardians movement in Canada is pursuing the same recognition of the benefits of traditional land management for both Country and people.

What the Impact Fund’s support means

“Impact Funders have helped us grow from a campaign to an independent organisation, delivering significant dividends for our environment and Indigenous wellbeing.” – Patrick O’Leary, Executive Director, CNP

Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund

Grants

• 2017 Large Grants round: $170,000 for core funding (over three years)

Winning the national energy debate

The Climate Council is Australia’s leading climate change communications organisation. The Climate Council provides authoritative, expert advice to the Australian public on climate change and solutions based on the most up-to-date science available.

Issue

Australia’s energy infrastructure is ageing, inefficient, polluting and must be replaced over the coming decades. The cost of large-scale renewables is now cheaper than new fossil fuels and costs are expected to continue to fall. Globally the energy transition from fossil fuels is now happening apace, but there has been little forward planning by the Australian government to smooth the transition for workers, communities or energy consumers.

Response

The Climate Council’s 2017 project, “Winning the National Energy Debate”, was designed to cut through and make a substantive difference in changing public opinion on this hotly contested issue. The project used a public narrative change model, honed over the last three years, to help shift the debate around climate change. The Climate Council is contuining to provide expert advice to the Australian public on climate change. The Council’s Climate Media Centre is partnering with 350.org Australia to Change Australia’s Story on Gas – one of the Impact Fund’s 2022 Collaborations.

Saving the reef by choosing coral over coal

The Fight for our Reef project is mobilising the Cairns tourism industry and local climate change movement to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

ISSUE

Climate change is a threat to the Great Barrier Reef. Existing policy and investment decisions are being economically rather than environmentally led and are not protecting the Reef. There is a lack of acknowledgement or urgency on the part of governments in Australia to recognise and respond to the threat of climate change. The mining and other industries have had a significant influence over government policy.

RESPONSE

The project is bringing an industry voice in support of the environment into the climate change debate by working at a grassroots level to engage and mobilise local community members and reef-based industries to advocate for stronger protection of the Great Barrier Reef.