logo Organising Petitions
Presbyterian Church of Australia in the State of New South Wales
 
 

It is probably wise to mention from the outset that petitions are  the least effective of  all the techniques that are available to the campaigner. They rarely attract the number of signatories that are required to make politicians take notice. A petition with 10 000 signatures sounds like a lot of people, but to a state or federal government it means about a hundred disaffected people, on average, per electorate.

Nevertheless with an issue that can generate a lot of support state or nation-wide, or one that is of interest in a small area,  e.g. a municipality or a key electorate, it can have an effect.

    It is important to note that the significance of  the petition is in the number of votes won or lost and whether it can make a difference to the outcome of an election.

 

 

There is a recognised format for petitions. The sample below was a real petition organised through the Church and Nation Committee by the Manilla Session in 1995.
By following its style and changing the content according to the subject, anyone wanting to organise a petition should be able to do so.

 

The petition is respectfully addressed to the body being petitioned through the person who chairs the body e.g. the Mayor, the Speaker, the President of the Senate.

The recitals concisely state the arguments that are the bases for  the requests contained in the petition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here the requests of the petition are precisely stated.

 

 

 

 



The formal ending of a petition.

Places for signatures and the associated details are located in the bottom half of the page. It is essential that the wording of the petition appears on each page.

Petition - Marriage and the Family Unit

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives in Parliament assembled:

The petition of the undersigned shows that:

   We believe that the traditional Christian view of the family unit excludes anything other than a male and female, living in a lawful marriage relationship, along with their children, and that it is necessary for this to be restated by our political leaders.
We reaffirm our belief in the traditional Christian view of marriage as God's holy institution in which male and female become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5, 6)
We reaffirm that God is the author of marriage, and has restricted it to the union of male with female and that such marriage between male and female is commended in Scripture as honourable among all. Ephesians 5:15-23).
We reaffirm that such marriage between male and female is ordained for life-long companionship, help and comfort which husband and wife ought to have of each other. (Romans 7: 2, 3).
We reaffirm that children are a heritage of the Lord and should be nurtured in a godly home, and that human society can be strong and happy only where the marriage bond is held in honour. (Psalm 127: 3).
We reaffirm that incestuous marriages can never be made lawful by the law of any man or government, or the consent of parties, so as to allow those people to live together as married couples~ (Mark 6:18; Leviticus 18: 6-28).
We reaffirm that it is forbidden for a male to practise sexual intercourse with another male, or for a female with a female, and that since this is an abomination before the Lord, such is a prohibited relationship for marriage (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13)
We believe the entire stability and well being of our society depends on maintaining this traditional Christian view of marriage and family (Leviticus 20:15-16; 18: 23-24)

Your petitioners ask that the House of Representatives should call on the Government to:

A.  Preserve completely intact the exclusiveness of marriage as being between one male and one female.

B  That the definition of a prohibited relationship in the Marriage Act 1961, Part III 23 (2) be amended with the addition of a new clause (c) so that it reads as follows:

(2) Marriages of parties within a prohibited relationship are marriages-

(a) between a person and an ancestor or descendant of the person;
or
(b) between a brother and a sister (whether of the whole blood or the half blood)
or
(c) between a male and a male or a female and a female.

Your Petitioners humbly pray.

Name Address Signature
     
     
     

                                             

 

A petition is normally delivered to a member of parliament or councillor who presents it to a meeting of the body concerned. Its reception will be noted in the minutes but there is no obligation to act.
You may find that the names and addresses obtained are more effectively used as a mailing list.