The Who, What, When, Where And Why of the Great Aussie Beer Bash

WHO

The Great Aussie Beer Bash is a campaign by New Matilda in conjunction with our junior partner The Sparkke Change Beverage Company, and the palates and livers of Australians everywhere. 

WHAT

It’s the first plank in a year-long campaign to get the date of our ‘national day’ shifted to one which isn't almost the equivalent of having a big fat party at a complete stranger's funeral. 

WHEN

The Great Aussie Beer Bash is May 23, 2018. Why? Because both houses of parliament are sitting that day, and this campaign is all about communicating with them. 

WHERE

Everywhere you’re allowed to drink a beer… but in particular Parliament House in Canberra (which has no alcohol restrictions but given what sometimes emanates from the place, probably should), plus pubs and clubs in capital cities around the nation.

WHY

Because if you want to create a movement, you have to create momentum first. That and because Sparkke’s Change The Date Pilsner is bloody delicious, and to be honest, getting a bit of a raw deal from an industry that finds their message #TooRisky.

HOW

Read on, dear punter.

Why Launch A #ChangeTheDate Campaign Now?

Because celebrating Australia Day on the date that marks the dispossession and slaughter of another people is obviously pretty effing ridiculous. And because the movement to Change the Date – while gathering serious momentum this year – ain’t going to go anywhere unless there’s a sustained effort throughout the year. In this case, the sustained effort includes shouting a few beers. Oi oi oi and all that crap! Put simply, #ChangeTheDate as a conversation only comes up for a few weeks, once a year. For change to happen, we need to keep talking about it throughout the year. So let’s keep talking.

The Great Aussie Beer Bash is the first plank in New Matilda’s year-long campaign (in partnership with Sparkke and others) to try and get the nation to address how bloody offensive it is to have a national day of celebration on a date that marks the dispossession and slaughter of someone else. Also, it's ridiculously easy to fix.

How Do I Support? 

On the most basic level, you can purchase 'The Single Shout' to shout our federal politicians a Change The Date Pilsner. Ahh, the sweet taste of ignoring our nation's history is about to be shaken up. 

Your beer will be packaged up into a party box bursting with beer cans along with a host of relevant information, posters and tid-bits, and delivered to Parliament House reception in Canberra on 23 May. All this paraphenalia is underpinned by a general sense of outrage that leadership on this issue has to be driven by people other than those elected to, well, lead. 

The good news is, you don’t actually have to shout them a beer if you don’t want to - you can also choose to shout them an empty! 'The Empty Shout' will cost you $5 extra, but that’s a pretty small price to pay when you think about the look on Cory Bernardi’s face when a party box of empty #ChangeTheDate beer cans arrives at reception. New Matilda editor Chris Graham and friends will help create the empties. You're welcome. 

But can I shout an individual AUSPOL a beer, you ask? Hell yeah, you can. Spend $200 on 'The Personal Shout' to send a beer and a heart-felt letter to your most adored politician (excluding the Salty Seven, see below). You write the message - no more than 80 words - and Sparkke will provide a gentle edit (where appropriate - ie. no hardcore profanity, threats or overtly aggressive text - the funniest messages will be published in New Matilda - with the author's permission of course). We'll then handwrite the message and sign it on your behalf, with your consent. Don't know who to choose? You can peruse your victims here (Senators) and here (Members), or for the extremely indifferent, we'll pick one for you.

But wait, there's more. Spend $500 on 'The Rare Shout' and you can shoot straight for the big players - choose between Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, Cory Bernardi, Pauline Hanson, Peter Dutton, Bill Shorten and Mark Latham - our fondly dubbed 'Salty Seven'. You'll receive a text notification when your personalised package is dropped to Parliament House so you can visualise the look on their faces in real-time. Thank-you, technology. 

For The Personal Shout and The Rare Shout, we'll reach out to you via email to assist you in crafting your message. 

We've also designed a limited-edition tee bearing the infamous Big Four - Bill Shorten, Peter Dutton, Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Turnbull - so you can wear your values on your sleeve. Plus, you can feel extra awesome about your purchase as these light-weight, 100% organic cotton tees are made to the utmost environmental, social and ethical standards. 

But What's In It For Me? 

Besides the warm glow you'll radiate knowing you've helped strike a blow for democracy, here's what else you get when you throw your dollars behind our campaign. 

1. A voucher for a free Sparkke to redeem at the Great Aussie Pub Shout. Think of it as the beginnings of your personal Sparkke tab. What does a pub shout out look like? Think of Tony Abbott at the pub having a beer with some friends, and talking politics. Then take Tony Abbott out of the picture (and erase the memory from your mind), and it looks a bit like that.
   It’s basically a group of us from all walks of life gathering at a hotel in Australia’s glorious capital cities on the day of the Great Aussie Beer Bash, talking about super important stuff over a few mid-strength (and thoroughly delicious) bevvies. In this case, the brew is Change The Date, a refreshing Pilsner with attitude. And the conversation is about #ChangeTheDate. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.                                                                                                                                                                  
2. You'll also be invited to the upcoming 'Politics in the Pub' events, coming to a capital city near you throughout 2018. If you’ve never been to a Politics In The Pub, you’re in for a treat. It’s basically people debating stuff, while having a relaxing drink. We’re anticipating the timing for this will be around October. By supporting this campaign here and now, you’re guaranteed a seat at the event if you choose to come.                                                                                                                                                       
3. If you're keen to get your hands on the crisp, refreshing beer our pollies will be slurping (or not) ahead of The Great Aussie Beer Bash, you'll also receive a cheeky discount code for our online shop once you support the campaign. We hope you'll find our Change The Date Pilsner delicious - and much easier to swallow than Cory Bernardi will. 

Why Shout Parliament A Beer?

There is nothing more Australian than shouting someone a beer. And Sparkke is all about starting important conversations in a relaxed setting – i.e. with a delicious (mid-strength) alcoholic drink in your hand. What could possibly go wrong, right?

Also, our federal parliament – which some days more closely resembles an episode of Married At First Sight rather than a house of laws – could do with something to chill them the fuck out. 

I'm in. What Are The Next Steps?

• Choose your reward to the right (or if you are on mobile - it might be above - so scroll up). When thinking about which one to choose, bear in mind that the more you spend, the more momentum we create to #ChangeTheDate.                                                           
• Note that for additional dollars, you can choose to send a personal message to a specific senator or member. Sparkke will co-ordiante all of that for you – the rules around language and sentiment are spelt out above.                                                          
• On May 23, we’ll deliver a special ‘#AusPol CTD Party Box’ to every politician in federal parliament.                                               
• Later that night, we’ll all gather in pubs and clubs around the nation to toast common sense and #ChangeTheDate… and to reinforce the point that #ChangeTheDate is NOT a fringe issue. Invites with times and venues will be confirmed and emailed to you at the end of this Pozible campaign.

Where does the money go? 

Over half of the funds raised will go to finance media activity and other direct campaign activity across the remainder of the year. We'll keep you fully updated as all of the activity unfolds, and of course, you will see the activity directly across Australia's media.

We're also commissioning a celebrated Australian artist, who will be announced during the life of this campaign, to create a piece of art that speaks directly to the need to Change The Date. This work will be unveiled publically on 26 January 2019.

The balance of funds will go to fund the party boxes, the freight and handling, and finance charges from Pozible, PayPal and Visa (thems the breaks!).

In a Single Shout, the margins are a bit tighter, and at $20 per can, here's the cost breakdown of your purchase:

• $10 to New Matilda to keep the #ChangeTheDate issue alive in the media and fund the commission of a piece of art related     to Change The Date by a renowned Australian artist (details to be confirmed).                                                                                 
• $4 for packaging, freight, finance and delivery costs                                                                                                                                     
• $6 for Sparkke to cover product, printing and all handling costs

Everyone across the project is pitching in, and you can expect a great bang for your buying dollar; for example, a Sparkke pint/schooner (425mls in any case) in a pub is around $8. A can in a bottleshop - $5 or $6. So beer value alone on this package is $14. Media and art value is definitely more than dollar for dollar. So your twenty dollar spend (more than) doubles in value, before you factor in the sheer joy in letting your inner shit-stirrer run free.

The greatest challenge facing #ChangeTheDate is momentum... i.e. we have to build some. In the past two years, support for moving Australia Day to a date that is more inclusive has grown exponentially. This year alone, more than 100,000 people marched around the country in opposition to the date of our national holiday. But discussion about January 26 is limited to a few weeks of the year. In other words, pressure on our elected leaders to do what they're paid to do - that is, lead - is fleeting. And if there's one sort of public pressure politicians prefer, it's fleeting public pressure. 

That's a long winded way of saying, if we're to make progress on #ChangeTheDate, then we need to start talking about it now, and keep talking about it throughout the year. 

We also have to be realistic about what we can achieve - the date won't change in January 2019 because Australians move slowly on issues like this. By way of example, it took 12 years to win a National Apology, and 13 years to get Marriage Equality. But 2019 is an election year, and one of the two major parties may split on the issue if they come to understand there's popular support for it, and they think they can eke out some sort of base political advantage (because neither of the two political parties ever did anything on the basis of principle alone).

It's worth remembering, 2020 marks 250 years since Captain Cook 'discovered' Australia. That might be a more realistic timeframe, but whatever the time frame ultimately is, discussion has to start now, and it has to be sustained throughout the year.

The Great Aussie Beer Bash is the first in a series of events aimed at trying to keep #ChangeTheDate in the minds of Australians throughout the year. So watch this space.

About New Matilda

New Matilda is one of Australia's oldest online publications (we started in 2004), but definitely Australia's most stubborn media outlet. We're famous for getting sued (all the time, but never successfully, touch wood, because we have excellent writers and even better lawyers). We're also known for our investigative journalism, and our Indigenous Affairs reporting in particular.

As a business, we run on the sniff of an oily rag - the overwhelming majority of New Matilda writers donate their work free of charge. They do this to help ensure that independent media in Australia stays alive, and punches well above its weight. 

Our core goal is to 'keep the bastards honest'. And by 'bastards' we mean most politicians, and the mainstream media in particular. 

About Sparkke

Sparkke celebrating its first birthday in January 2018

The Sparkke Change Beverage Company is a for-purpose alcohol company that produces award-winning, 100% natural brews and wine. At heart, they're a group of social activists demanding more from Australia’s $4 billion-a-year beer industry and the consumers who support it. They're a genuinely progressive social enterprise that raises awareness and funds for important social issues.

Powered by a radical group of young women in Adelaide, they value universal fairness, inclusion, individuality and raw truth. And any form of authenticity – wherever they find it. New Matilda's owner/editor Chris Graham is a director of Sparkke, and a minority shareholder. 

Sparkke’s Change The Date Pilsner is an incredible mid-strength beer, and one of a very few of its kind in Australia. It is clean, fresh and highly sessionable.  Sparkke’s message calls for Australians to recognise that January 26th is a day that symbolises the beginning of cultural genocide and the systemic oppression of our first nations peoples. The world’s oldest culture.  Sparkke aren't the experts, so they don’t propose an alternative – that’s above their pay grade (currently Australia’s gender pay gap is 15.3 percent, by the way). But what they do know is that basic human decency requires that we, as a nation, consider the issue and in consultation with Aborigine and Torres Strait Islanders, Change The Date of Australia Day or change its nature.

Sparkke gives 10 percent of direct sales and four percent of channel sales to organisations that support its various social causes. For this campaign, they're excited to give their inner activist free reign to romp with media larrikan, New Matilda.