Talk politics
Home » Magazine » Good, issue 2 » Good bits » Talk politicsDon't wait for a national election to let a cabinet minister or your local MP know what’s on your mind.
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Visit your MP
Electorate MPs are elected by their communities to serve and represent them in Parliament. Meeting your representative MP in person is the most powerful thing you can do to get your issues on their agenda.
Your local MP will have one or two days a week set aside for meeting with their constituents (meetings known as ‘clinics’). Write a letter first, outlining your concerns and requesting a meeting, then phone to make an appointment.
You don’t have to be an expert, but it helps to be specific about your concerns. Make it clear to your MP that these issues are very important to you, and that they will affect how you vote in the election.
You could also try to meet with list MPs from your area. For a list of current MPs and much more info, go to good.net.nz/2/parliament.
write to a minister
Cabinet ministers are the decision-makers in Government, responsible for a single portfolio such as the environment, transport or climate change. If your concerns fall under the responsibility of a cabinet minister, write to them. The opposition parties also have spokespeople for the cabinet portfolios; write to them, too.
Click here for a list of ministers in charge of particular portfolios, and the opposition spokepeople.
Ministers are very busy people. Keep it short: two paragraphs are best. State the purpose of the letter first. Be polite, to the point, factual and specific. Is there a particular solution you’d like to see implemented?
Send to ...
It’s possible to email MPs (firstname.lastname@parliament.govt.nz) but writing a letter is more effective. MPs operate by a rule of thumb: every person who bothers to write equals 100 people with the same concern.
Make sure you include your full name, address, phone number and email address so they can write back.
Writing to any MP, minister or the Prime Minister is free. Just write their full name and this address:
Freepost Parliament
PO Box 18888
Wellington
To write to all the MPs at once, send 121 copies of your letter (and a covering note asking for the letter to be distributed to each member) to:
All members of Parliament
Care of Distribution Services
Parliament Buildings
Wellington 6160
