Q. Is FairGO government funded?
A. No. We are funded by users of our services, subscribers who have joined our network and receive free support in working out what to do and donations from voters we have helped.

Q. Has FairGO any association with any government or political party?
A. Not other than in the normal course of negotiating on behalf of voters.

Q. Is it possible for one person to influence the government?
A. Yes! Individuals do it every day.  FairGO makes it possible for any person to do so.

Q. Do people always convince government to do what they want?
A. Of course not. Some make unreasonable requests; some do not use FairGO’s techniques; some give up early; some requests are very selfish and would disadvantage many other people. Most fair-minded people do get what they want if they do exactly what FairGO suggests.

Q. Is joining a political party a good way to get things done?
A. We don’t think so. The power of ordinary individual party members is small, just as it is for most individual Members of Parliament (MP).  By joining the network of FairGO voters, anyone can influence any political party in parliament.

Q. When government still ignores requests for help, what can a person or group do?
A. Having used the FairGO services to take requests or ideas to all politicians, the best solution for the person ignored is to campaign against a government MP at election time in a marginal electorate, on issues relevant to that electorate.

Q. Does FairGO only help people with whom it agrees?
A. No. We will help anyone to put their views to politicians.

Q. Does FairGO only handle big issues of interest to the whole community?
A. No. We handle issues of interest to the wider community, like improving road safety, health services. We also help people with personal issues like getting medical, disability or education services for family members. Some solicitors have used us to quickly settle damages claims or other disputes their clients have with governments.

Q. Is it expensive to send a message to all MPs?
A. No, it is very cheap. The costs also cover help in dealing with replies from politicians, which is vital to success. In addition they cover costs of monitoring responses from politicians so that we can give them credit at election time in the media. All people who help should be thanked and we like to let voters know about the best MPs.

Q. Is a good first step to approach my local MP and the minister involved?
A. It is always good to ask for help from your local MP and FairGO will automatically assist you in doing that. However, your local MP is only one person in a parliament of perhaps 100 people, half of whom cannot stand the other half. Being one person in 100, your local MP usually has very limited power  to assist you. If your local MP raises your issue in Parliament, it comes with his or her “Political Party” tag. So a Liberal government is unlikely to help a Labor MP look good to voters in that MP’s electorate which the Liberals would lke to win. And vice Versa. The minister is so busy that most correspondence is handled by staff, so the minister rarely sees requests from individual voters. If you are challenging something the minister or department are already doing wrong, the minister is hardly likely to tell the parliament about your letter. FairGO uses a Vmail system that takes your request, idea, complaint or suggestion to virtually every Member of Parliament. That way everyone gets a chance to help you. They will not all do that, but those who do stand a great chance of solving your problem, if you follow FairGO’s guidelines.

If you have a question that is not answered here, click here to email FairGO.

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