I recently signed a petition through Change.org to ask our politicians to reinstate the travel allowance for our troops to travel home once a year. Today, 14 September 2012, I received the following.
Cheers, Mike Holt VVAASC member.
Breaking news about the petition you signed on Change.org to reinstate the travel allowance for defence members. Read on for Mark Koosache’s message:
Mike,
I can’t believe it! We’ve won. The government has just reinstated the allowance for our service men and women to travel home.
I can’t wait to tell my son later tonight that he’ll be able to travel home this Christmas — and so happy that the 22,000 others with family in the forces will be able to do the same.
The government had deprived 22,000 people of their allowance to travel home at the end of the year, all to save a measly $15 million. But then at 3pm yesterday they backed down.
I can’t thank the 14,375 of you who signed my petition enough. The support was incredible. Our campaign was covered on 2GB, Triple J, The Daily Telegraph, local papers and many more. Boxing champion Danny Green and Normie Rowe even put their support behind it!
I am very proud of the fact that I was able, with the help of people like you, to move public opinion to a degree that change was achieved for the better. This proves that if you believe in something and you are willing to fight hard and not give up, you can win.
I just got this from a mum of a soldier on the Gove Peninsula and I thought I should share it with all of you: “We will think of you when we sit down to our Christmas meal. You have shown me that if we all get together and fight injustice, the impossible can be achieved!”
Thanks so much for your help.
Mark
P.S. If you know of other issues affecting our diggers, or anything you want to see changed, you can start your own petition here: change.org/start-a-petition
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