Transcription Audio

Hello and welcome, and thanks for making time today. I want to talk about a moment every advocate in Australia knows too well. The campaign catches fire, media explodes, hundreds of thousands sign on—and the policy never lands. The bill stalls. The budget line evaporates. Momentum fades. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: high‑performing advocacy teams operate differently. They don’t mistake awareness for the finish line; they use it as a runway. They pivot to a targeted policy campaign the moment three things line up: evidence, timing, and coalition power. And they do it early—often before the media peak—while decision‑makers are still forming their positions. The pivot isn’t about noise. It’s about precision. Let’s name the real problem. Awareness isn’t a proxy for institutional readiness. Government runs on calendars, procedures, and risk thresholds that don’t map to social media surges. In our Westminster system, there are multiple veto points—Cabinet, party rooms, crossbench negotiations, Senate committees, and departments that have to deliver. Each moves on its own timeline. That’s why petitions can soar and still nothing happens. The committee chair won’t set hearings without crossbench cover and departmental capacity. Media can peak, but the budget bid may have closed months earlier; Treasury isn’t reopening submissions because Twitter is loud. Stakeholders might endorse you, but if there’s no vehicle—no bill, regulation, or ministerial direction—there’s nothing for the system to carry. Goodwill can be broad, but if you can’t name the whip count, you don’t have the votes. And even with strong support, the agency may lack the statutory authority or technical capacity to deliver. That’s where momentum dies. So when should you pivot from broad awareness to a targeted policy push? When decision‑grade evidence exists, a viable policy vehicle is identified, and a time‑bound window is about to open. Not when headlines peak—when the system is ready to move. The timing puzzle is harder now. Digital attention cycles run in days; Parliament, National Cabinet, and budget processes remain steady and slow. Decision‑makers expect implementation‑ready proposals—fully costed, measurable, auditable. Treasury stress‑tests assumptions and wants a clear counterfactual: what happens if we don’t act, and at what cost? Evidence has matured too. Remote sensing, genomics, and rigorous evaluations mean we can quantify, cost, and defend what works. Departments now stress‑test decisions as standard practice. The bar is higher—but when your case is rock solid, more doors open. There are five decisive triggers. When these are active, you don’t just get to pivot—you must. First, your evidence is decision‑grade. Emotional appeals mobilise supporters; Cabinet and Treasury want evidence that withstands challenge. That means four things: a quantified problem statement; an options analysis with clear trade‑offs; a cost‑benefit frame that includes risks and unintended consequences; and measurable outcomes with realistic timelines and accountability. In Australia, that aligns with a Regulatory Impact Statement. Passion gets attention; a defensible standard, feasible monitoring, credible costings, and a verification plan get decisions. Second, a viable vehicle exists. Awareness without a vehicle is petrol without an engine. What actually carries your ask? A bill, an amendment, a regulation, a ministerial direction, a budget measure, an intergovernmental agreement? Who’s the sponsor? Do you have drafting instructions? Have you engaged the Office of Parliamentary Counsel? If yes, the runway is real. If not, you’re still warming up. Third, the calendar window is imminent and defined. Know the timetables that matter: sitting weeks, inquiry deadlines, Budget and MYEFO cycles, ERC meetings, Cabinet submission cut‑offs, caretaker conventions, RIS milestones. If you’re within striking distance—Budget eight to twelve weeks away and costings ready; a live inquiry you can shape; an omnibus bill that can carry your amendment—this is the moment. Public attention helps, but the calendar decides. Fourth, you have coalition power and crossbench cover. You can name your champions and count your votes—in the House and the Senate. Peak bodies are aligned, industry isn’t lining up to oppose you, and key voices—from First Nations leaders to local government, unions or employer groups—are supportive or neutral. The “no surprises” rule is in play: the department is briefed early. If you can map names to numbers, with a pathway through party rooms and the crossbench, you have power. Without that, you’re gaming probabilities. Fifth, implementation capacity is real. The delivery agency has the legal authority, capability, data systems, and people to make it happen—or your proposal funds a practical plan to get them there. Budgets align with workforce and procurement realities. There’s monitoring and evaluation. Regulators can audit compliance. When Treasury asks who does what, when, and with what money, you can answer. When those triggers line up—decision‑grade evidence, a ready vehicle, a clear window, actual power, and deliverability—you pivot. Not next month. Now. What does the pivot look like? It’s a shift from volume to precision. Your public message narrows to a one‑sentence ask a minister can repeat. Your evidence becomes a two‑pager with annexes, not a 40‑slide deck. You move from broad petitions to targeted briefings. You book time with ministerial offices, shadow portfolios, crossbench staffers, and committee secretariats. You pre‑brief the department so they’re not surprised at Cabinet. You line up a media cadence that supports decisions rather than spiking outrage—think explainers in the AFR and The Australian, local case studies in regional papers, and op‑eds from unusual allies that provide political cover. You keep your base warm, but you aim your firepower at the few people who can say yes. You also sequence stakeholders. Start with those who can quietly veto you—Treasury, Finance, the lead department. Bring in enforcement and delivery agencies. Give industry space to raise concerns and offer a modified pathway that keeps them neutral. Approach crossbenchers with tailored benefits for their constituencies and draft amendment language they can own. Be surgical with timing: whisper when the door is open; shout only to widen it. Here’s a quick self‑test. Can you hand a minister a one‑page brief that sets out the problem, three options with costs and benefits, your preferred option, the vehicle, the calendar, the stakeholders, and the delivery plan? Can you name your champion, your numbers in both houses, your departmental contact, and your critical path through the next eight weeks? Can you show how failure to act costs more than doing the thing? If yes, you’re ready. If not, stay in runway mode. Build evidence to RIS standard. Identify or create the vehicle. Work the calendar. Align your coalition. Pressure‑test delivery with the people who will own it. Use your awareness campaign to gather intelligence and recruit unlikely allies. The pivot isn’t a feeling. It’s a choice triggered by conditions you can create. One more mindset shift: heat and light are different. Heat mobilises. Light guides. There are moments to turn up the heat—to expand the window or deter a hostile amendment. And moments to provide light—inside the room, handing over solutions the system can adopt. The art is knowing when to switch. So next time your petition takes off and your media graph spikes, ask three questions: Do we have decision‑grade evidence? Do we have a vehicle? Is there a real window in the calendar? If yes, add two more: Do we have the numbers? Can it be delivered? If you can tick those boxes, pivot. If not, keep building toward that moment. The difference between headlines and history is almost always the same: who pivoted at the right time, with the right evidence, into the right vehicle, with the right people lined up to deliver. That’s how you turn awareness into durable policy in Australia’s system. It’s not glamorous, but it is repeatable. And once you’ve felt a campaign land—bill through, budget secured, implementation underway—you’ll never confuse volume for victory again. Thanks for listening, and here’s to making the next big moment count.