This page provides a step-by-step guide to arranging and having an impactful meeting with your MP or candidate, as well as templates you can use to make it easy for you.

Meeting your MP/Candidate: What's Involved

The following sections will help you organise and hold an effective meeting with your MP/candidate:

Step 1: Book your meeting
Step 2: Prepare for your meeting
Step 3: Have your meeting
Step 4: Follow up your meeting (and tell us about it!)

And remember, we're here to help! If you have any questions, email us at [email protected].

Resources

• MP meeting request email or letter - template (copy & paste into a word doc to edit)
• MP meeting agenda plan - template (copy & paste into a word doc to edit)
• Overview of renewable energy issues in Queensland (Campaign brief)
• Queensland party promises for renewable energy 
• Posters - email [email protected] to organise a poster for your meeting

Step 1: Book your meeting

Find your MP/Candidate

Find your state electorate on the Queensland Electoral Commission website here.

To find out who the MP for your electorate is, go to the Queensland Parliament Current Members page.

Once you find your MP, click on them to open their profile and see their office contact details.

You can also find details for candidates from other parties in your electorate by checking out the different party’s websites:

Labor Party Candidates                                Katter United Party Candidates                                   

LNP Candidates                                                North Queensland First Candidates  

Greens Candidates                                          One Nation Candidates      

Request a meeting 

Send an email or letter to your MP/candidate's office to request a meeting. We’ve made it easy by making a template for you to use here.

Follow up calls to your MP/candidate's office – be persistent!

Call to follow up a few days after you send your request. It’s likely you'll speak to a member of staff - let them know you've already requested a meeting in writing and are following up to see when the MP/candidate is available. You can also offer to have a Zoom meeting instead of face-to-face. 

Step 2: Prepare for your meeting

Speak to your mentor & team

If you have a mentor or a team that you’re going to the meeting with, let them know you have a meeting booked and arrange a time to prepare together. 

Prepare for the meeting

Remember you don’t have to be a renewable energy or policy expert! The main purpose of the meetings is to ramp up the pressure on your MP/candidates on renewable energy before the election. If you don't know the answer to a question, you can always follow up with the info later.

1. Fill out the Meeting Agenda Sheet with your talking points and questions before the meeting. 
2. Here are some useful resources for talking points:
   • Overview of the Queensland renewable energy campaign
   • Queensland party promises for renewable energy
   • How much solar is in your area and how fast it's growing:
     • Solar households by electorate/local government area/postcode 
     • Increase in solar households by postcode since 2007 
3. Let Solar Citizens know you have a meeting, and we'll send you a poster for the photo and a campaign brief to give to your MP/candidate: [email protected]

Can't get a meeting? Tell your mentor and email Solar Citizens ([email protected]), and we'll help you organise an action outside the MP/candidates office. 

And look out for MP and candidate events like forums and pop up offices for other opportunities to chat with them in person. 

Step 3: Have your meeting

Things to bring with you:

• Renewable Energy Campaign Brief
• Meeting Agenda Sheet (fill out beforehand)
• A notepad and pen
• A camera or mobile phone to take a photo at the end.
• Solar Citizens campaign poster to hold up in your photo (if you have one - get in touch before your meeting)

In the meeting:

Use the Meeting Agenda Template to guide what you'll say during the meeting.

• Introduce yourselves 
• Share your story 
• Talk about the issues
• Ask your MP/candidate to share their thoughts on renewable energy
• Ask your MP/candidate to support stronger renewable energy policies
• Take a photo of your team with your MP/candidate 
• Offer your sincere thanks for your MP/candidate's interest and let them know that you will be in touch again with more information and updates.

Make sure you are polite in the meeting – but also be assertive. While we want to avoid being critical, we don’t want to understate the importance of solar and renewable energy to Australians and it’s okay to let that show in the meeting. 

Step 4: Follow up your meeting (and tell us about it!)

Once you’re back from your meeting you should do the following:

• Send a follow-up email to your MP/candidate to thank them for the meeting and to provide them with any information that you offered to send them.
• Check in with your mentor and arrange a time to debrief on how it went and what they said.
• Tell us about your meeting and send us your meeting photo – you can email us at [email protected]

Questions? Contact us

If you have any questions, get in touch with your mentor, or contact Solar Citizens at [email protected] - we’re here to help!