What next on government engagement?

With Pro Bono News ending and almost wall to wall Labor governments, what comes next for my engagement with government?

It is with much sadness that I draft my final article for Pro Bono News. 

While I also write for other publications, none are as close to my heart as Pro Bono, the media outlet that has shaped political discourse, mobilised the sector in times of need, and provided guidance to all of us across the many areas of social purpose leadership. 

When my business partner and I first started Tanck—working with our clients in government advocacy, engagement, and campaign — we did so because we believed fundamentally in the capacity and capability of the social purpose sector to shift public policy for good. We wanted to deliberately do lobbyists out of a job, to cut the crude networks and name dropping, to lift the voices of the not for profit and social purpose space, and to shift the dial on big pressing issues facing Australia. 

All these aspirations, and so many more aligned with Pro Bono. Our greatest champions, in Karen and her team with Wendy, Isabelle and many others, believed in what we did and the importance of it for our sector – change for the better, engagement with government and shifting the dial. To this we all owe them our sincere thanks.  

So, while Pro Bono News is leaving us, it is departing with our sector in a better place than when they started: stronger, more informed, educated and driven, however, the challenges facing the sector continue to grow. Today I leave you with some key thoughts for the years ahead. 

Australia now has almost wall-to-wall Labor governments (nationally, as well as all states and territories except Tasmania), and while history shows this won’t be permanent, it raises new and different challenges for our sector. We have already started to see internal discussions in the Liberal and National party over whether they should move to the centre or shift right – the best time to shape, change and craft relationships and shift the dial towards the social and not for profit policies we want in the longer term is when parties are in opposition. This needs to be front and centre if you are genuine about shifting the dial. 

What do I mean by this? While many organisations will focus on their short-term sugar hits, funding or policy with Labor, perhaps arguing they do not go far enough, or are not progressive enough – this may be called out at times as virtue signalling – the discussion in the climate space is the case in point. Longer term organisations who are genuinely seeking to shift the dial, make an impact and truly change history will shift their focus now as much to the conservative oppositions in Australia – as for long term, sustainable change, we need to ensure anything we do survives a change of government. 

Whether it be arguing for increases in welfare, shifting policy on the environment, or health, if we work with the Liberal and National Party and show them that the only way they can return to government is by taking up our cause, the tide of change will not roll back when governments inevitably change. In the last few decades, excepts in circumstances when Labor governments implode or fall into infighting, the Liberal and National Party only ever wins from the centre – imagine if we can get the oppositions championing increases to Newstart, or health care reform, real education reform, or structural shifts around gender – then we have a future we can all be proud of. 

Just as Pro Bono has always been ahead of its time, so too in my final column am I asking you to think to the future as well, and by doing just a few things differently we can secure long term change for the social purpose space:

1. Ditch the expensive communications and lobbying firms who rely on dated networks – if you appear on a lobbying register you are not making change, you are outsourcing it.  Build your team capacity, amplify their voice, your voice – do not shirk the responsibilities we all have for a better future by outsourcing to lobbyists both your voice and values. 
2. Focus on the opposition now as much as you do government – sustainable, systemic change only happens if your policies survive changes in government.  What will it take to get the Liberal or National Party to be ahead of Labor in your chosen area and aim for that.
3. Do not let perfect get in the way of good. There is a very real concern that we will judge Labor governments as not going far enough, hard enough, quick enough on whatever issue – and quickly forgot what time was like under former governments. 

It is this final point that I want to leave you on, in the wake of the NSW Labor win. If your advocacy spends more time being critical of Labor governments than it does working with Liberal and National parties while they are in opposition, you are actually part of the problem not the solution. No government will ever be perfect, but we have always secured more with honey than vinegar. How can you make sure Liberal/National Governments care about your issues? How do you make sure that LNP governments outflank Labor on social policy? How do you work collaboratively on genuine systemic change, which survives the ebbs and flows of government? And how do you reward small steps in the right direction?  It is always easy to keep momentum going once started, than to hinder it before it has the chance. 

Finally, to all those who have emailed, corresponded, read my articles over the past many years: thank you.  I still want to change the world and judging by the discussions we have had over many years, I think all the Pro Bono Australia readers do also.

For those wanting to stay in touch with future hints and tips on government engagement – please sign up to our blog at https://tanck.com.au/blog – or shoot me an email at neil@tanck.com.au 

To Karen and team, thank you. You highlight the very best of our sector, the inspiration we all need on occasions, and epitomise everything great not just about government engagement, but across the for purpose landscape.