The Pirate Party Australia welcomes the decision of Justice Cowdroy in the Federal Court today, and whilst AFACT will most probably appeal this decision, we take it as a victory for common sense.

"This is a good decision by Justice Cowdroy, and reflects that there is no legal basis or obligation for any ISP to act in the interest of copyright holders, or to expect that they should disconnect any entity upon allegation of infringement without judicial oversight and due process. Essentially an ISP should be considered similar to the postal service - they simply carry data in the form of packets, and that communication should be considered private." said Rodney Serkowski, Party Secretary.

Download PDF Press Release

Hello. I am Brendan Molloy, Group Co-ordinator of Pirate Party Australia.

Many of you signed up for preliminary membership near the end of last year, however, many of you have not followed up with a full membership.

Full membership is important, as in order to register as an official party, we require 500 full members. We are past the halfway point but we're still not quite there, so we need your help!
(To read further, click read more)

Pirate Party Australia wishes to express its dismay at the recent amendments of the
Electoral Act and disgust at Attorney-General Michael Atkinson's apparent contempt for the
South Australian public.

The South Australian Attorney-General commented with respect to new amendments
requiring "anyone making an online comment about next month's state election to publish
their real name and postcode."

Mr Atkinson said "There is no impinging on freedom of speech, people are free to say what
they wish as themselves, not as somebody else."

Matt Redmond, South Australian Pirate Party spokesperson stated "Every citizen in a
democracy has the right to question the government, and in doing so, has the right to
protect himself from censure. Even within the narrow scope of this bill, the Government
has limited what people will be able to say without fear of retribution. Besides being
ludicrously unenforceable, this amendment merely demonstrates that the Government has
no interest in representing the people.”

He continued “That Ms Redmond and the Opposition raised no substantial objections to
these amendments shows that they are just as out of touch with the internet generation as
the incumbent Government."

Rodney Serkowski, Pirate Party Australia Secretary criticised Attorney-General Atkinsonʼs
comments. "Such comments are completely and utterly ignorant. Anonymity is an essential
part of political discourse in any democracy, and an essential part of the freedom of
speech. Mr. Atkinson does not seem to realise that someone may choose to maintain their
anonymity due to fear of harassment, political or economic retribution and even
sometimes, threat to their lives. It is necessary for whistle blowers, those struggling against
repressive governments and so forth."

PDF Press Release

As we come together with friends and family, to celebrate and reflect on the achievements and values of a free and democratic Australia on our national day, it is quite worrying to see that the Australian government continues to participate in secretive negotiations being held in Guadalajara, Mexico today.

Currently in their 7th round of negotiations, the deceptively named ‘Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement’ (ACTA) represents an expansion of the US-led maximalist copyright agenda with little regard for fundamental rights or transparency.

The EFA has launched an ePetition, an internet petition against mandatory internet censorship that will actually be presented to the Australian Senate!