Letter to the Editor

Write a Letter to the Editor

A letter to the editor (LTE) is a short letter to a local newspaper or publication that gives your opinion on an issue, and calls on local or Federal politicians, or fellow community members, to take action.

We’ve put together a tool to help you get started. Each tab below includes some tips and a walk-through, and instructions on how to submit your letter to one of the local papers in Canberra.

Why write a letter to the editor?

Believe it or not, the letter to the editor section is one of the most widely read parts of a newspaper (along with the Sports page). These letters can help shift community opinions on important issues by:

Raising awareness: A letter to the editor (LTE) is a great way to raise the profile of an issue.

Responding rapidly: Many publications print LTEs within a day or two of receiving them, making them one the most effective actions when trying to respond quickly to new developments or announcements.

Sending a message to politicians: LTEs show local and Federal politicians that their constituents (that’s you!) care passionately about an issue and will hold them accountable.

Energising supporters and thanking supportive politicians: Published letters fire up local supporters and show supportive politicians that their constituents have their back when they lead on important issues.

Persuading: LTEs can show how an issue affects local people in a way that those on the fence—including politicians—can sympathise with.

Do’s and don’ts of writing letters

People read LTE’s to find out:

How local people think or feel about an issue.
How an issue is affecting their community.
What the major impacts of an action could be.

People do not read LTE’s for:

In-depth policy talk: LTEs should be short and personal, demonstrating the local connection to an issue and the views of community members. You don’t have to be an expert to share your personal story. Many papers rarely print letters that are long or broad.
National political debates: People turn to TV and large publications to learn about the national debate on the issues. LTEs that don’t focus on the community will likely not be selected for publication in a local paper. (However, the Canberra Times will sometimes publish letters on national issues.)

Writing your letter

Keep it short. Stay within the publication’s rules—likely no longer than 250 or 300 words. Shorter letters are the most effective. Get to the point.

Tell your story. Make the issue human by describing how the issue has affected you or someone you know. Start your letter with a brief personal story—yours or someone else, like family, a coworker, or a friend. Even someone you’ve met on a plane or bus ride, or in line at the grocery store can be a great subject for an anecdote.

Know your audience. What type of publication are you writing for, and who is reading it? Keep things local.

DON’T delve into policy. Avoid using a long string of dull facts—there’s not enough room in 300 words to make a nuanced policy argument, and your passion is more powerful.

Use powerful language. Let your feelings show. Use powerful verbs and descriptive nouns. Write short, punchy sentences. Vary sentence length. This will help your letter stand out and make it more likely to be published.

Make a call to action. End your letter with a specific call to action to your local lawmakers or community members. Your LTE will only be effective if it gets others to take action!

Check for proper grammar and spelling. Ask a friend to take a look at your letter before you submit. Letters with error will likely not be published, or they might be published with the your errors.

Send your letter

Use the form below to send a letter to the editor to one of the local Canberra newspapers.

After you get published

After you send your LTE, keep an eye out! Many publications, especially small ones, may not tell you if you will be published because you have already given your permission by sending it.

If you are published—Success!

Congratulations! Your message is being heard.

Make sure to reshare the message on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets. Use the sharing featured on the website to send it to family, friends, and neighbours to help it rise on the “most e-mailed” or “most shared” list if the site has one.

Also, make sure you let us know.

Send your letter

Your Name*
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Your Email*
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Which newspaper do you want to send a letter to?*
Your Letter to the Editor
What issue is this letter about?*
Facts about penalty rates
Over 50,000 people in Canberra rely on weekend penalty rates.

Women will be hardest hit, with women making up the majority of working people in retail, hospitality and fast food.

There is no evidence that cutting wages or reducing Sunday penalty rates will create jobs. But there is lots of evidence that cutting wages and penalty rates will negatively impact on consumer spending and therefore cost jobs.
Facts about workplace safety
Over 3000 people are seriously injured in Canberra each year (that's just in the private sector).

The ACT construction industry is the least safe jurisdiction in Australia.

An independent inquiry into construction safety found that a "culture of disregard" for safety amongst construction managers and bosses was the principle reason that construction sites were unsafe.
Workplace injuries have increased in recent years, while the numbers of proactive and reactive inspections by Work Safe ACT have decreased.
Facts about workplace exploitation
Over half of all workers aged under 25 experience wage-theft, underpayments, or non-payment of superannuation.

Over 70 percent of all temporary migrant workers, including international students, experience wage-theft, underpayments and non-payment of superannuation.
55 percent of young workers have been bullied or harassed. Many report that they are threatened by supervisors with having shifts reduced if they speak up against exploitation.
Facts about jobs in Canberra
Canberra has the lowest unemployment rate in Australia, and the highest average wages.

After the election of the Abbott Govt. in 2014, unions secured a commitment from the ACT Govt. to protect local public sector jobs by maintaining the size of the public service.

The Abbott-Turnbull Govt. has wrecked over 7000 public service jobs in Canberra.
Facts about Minimum Wages
The minimum wage in Australia is just $17.79 per hour. A full-time worker would earn just $35,000 per year.

Unions in 2017 have made a claim to raise the minimum wage by $45 per week, to $18.89 (or just $37,500 per year for a full-time worker).

There are 2.3 million working people on the minimum wage, that's one in four workers, and an increase of 400,000 in the last two years.

The average person on the minimum wage is a woman aged 35 working a part-time or casual job.
Facts about paid parental leave
Australians work some of the longest full-time hours in the OECD and Australia is one of the most unequal countries with respect to men’s and women’s sharing of unpaid domestic and care work.

Workplace rights about parental leave have not kept up with modern Australia. Employees don't have the right to access parental leave, only to request it.

The Federal Liberal Govt. wants to penalise women who have paid parental leave in an enterprise agreement by reducing their access to universal paid parental leave.

Unions believe paid parental leave should be available to both women and men, so that parents can spend special bonding time with their child.
Facts about casualisation
Around 4 million workers are in casualised, contracted-out jobs.

Insecure, casualised work has real, negative health impacts on workers, including stress, sleeplessness and high blood pressure.

Most of the new casualised jobs created in the last decade have been filled by women, or by people from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Although the Federal Govt. says casualisation mainly affects uni students, most casualised workers are aged over 30 and want to work in a secure job.
What do you want to say?*
This is the content of your letter to the editor. Try to keep it below 300 words.
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Canberra Times Editor Email
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Write a Letter to the Editor

Why write a letter to the editor?

Do’s and don’ts of writing letters

Writing your letter

Send your letter

After you get published

Send your letter

Your Letter to the Editor

About You

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