Have you been sent a petition lately? Have you ever wondered if signing it actually matters? And what happens to the signatures? We’ve all had the experience of being approached by a smiling person with a clipboard on the street. Not sure about you, but I’ve waved them off with a too busy on numerous occasions. I might have even cared about the issue they were spruiking. But it’s made me think about the fate of petitions in the digital era.
I spoke to Barbara Gorman, convenor of the Pennant Hills Amnesty International group. Barbara is a long-term activist and a force of nature. What she doesn’t know about petitions is not worth knowing.
Barbara says that people sign petitions “to gain people power and a voice and to inform the public of what’s going on.“
She takes written petitions to local market stalls.
“You get to discuss the issue and, you hope, influence their opinion. And the spinoff may be that they spread the word amongst their family and friends. Because often people don’t know how bad it is, the situation, until you actually engage and give them some statistics.“
She values written petitions over digital ones. “If you’re signing a digital petition there’s a lot of reading involved before you can push the button and sign it. Whereas if you’re engaging with someone who’s got good communication skills, you’re more likely to influence someone to sign a petition. “
When the petition is signed, she takes it to a politican to table it in Parliament. “So there’s that sense of occasion. It’s a bit like going to visit the king! You frock up, the red carpet’s rolled out, and a group of you will arrive to meet the minister or the mayor or whoever else it is that you wish to present the petitions to.“
Barbara admits that at times there can be heated discussion. “Rather than being confrontational we’d say “Oh so that’s your opinion. I’m interested to hear how you came to that decision or that conclusion.”
On 14 September Barbara is delivering to Deputy PM Richard Marles a petition for the Australian Government to stop selling arms to Israel. At 140,000 signatures she says it’s likely the most signatures Amnesty has ever had on written petitions.
“There’s a lot of passion in the community for what’s happening in Gaza. It’s the worst episode of genocide that the world has seen since the Second World War. And because we know that there’s no escape for the people of Gaza – it’s hemmed in. They’re sitting ducks.“
At the end of the day, does signing petitions matter? While they may have no legal power, enough signatures can compel debate. They also show politicians that a big group of potential voters care about an issue. But if you really want to enact political change, it’s not enough to only sign a form – it’s merely the first step to engaging with the community that cares about an issue.
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