MPs do your job - keep parliament working

Dear federal MPs,

You work for us. Many of us are being laid off or put on indefinite leave. Some of us are being isolated and many of us are working from home, all to keep Australians safe.

It’s simply not good enough to adjourn the Parliament until August and go home. The day to day operations of governing cannot just stop. Our Parliament exists for a reason - it is there to make laws and determine and oversee public expenditure. Most importantly, as a parliament, we need you to be watching over our executive government to make sure they are doing their job well. At this critical time in our history, these functions are even more vital.

You have a critical job to do in this time of crisis.

Even with parliament in recess, you should continue to undertake committee work, make legislation, scrutinise expenditure and supervise the government. Surely you can do this remotely!

We call on you all to stand up against the marginalisation of our Parliament, and to find innovative ways for its vital work to continue.
We challenge you to use this as an opportunity to revitalise democracy for the 21st century.
The Parliament is our voice. We demand that it keep meeting. We have the technology.

So make it happen please.