Category: Press Release

Press releases

Government should follow EU in rejecting ACTA, says Pirate Party

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In a decisive victory for democracy and civil liberties, the Committee on International Trade has recommended that the European Parliament reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Pirate Party Australia welcomes this victory against opaque, anachronistic and exclusionary policy.

Although Australia has already signed the agreement, the text is currently under consideration by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. The Pirate Party has said on many occasions[1][2] that the agreement must be rejected, and that Australia still has the opportunity to withdraw from the agreement. Australia’s withdrawal would pave the way for industry-specific approaches and reforms, rather than the blanket ‘solution’ provided by ACTA.

“The rejection of ACTA by four consecutive committees — including the Committee on International Trade — is damning of the text, process and intent of this agreement. It raises larger questions about the process of treaty making in Australia. It is imperative that we move toward greater transparency in such processes. Texts, drafts and negotiations must be made public. Civil society must be included from the very beginning of any initiative,” said Brendan Molloy, Party Secretary.

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Pirate Party Calls for an End to TPPA Mess

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Pirate Party Australia is disturbed by the decision of the Canadian and Mexican Governments to join in the opaque and fundamentally flawed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations. The Party yet again calls for complete transparency and inclusion of civil society in the negotiation process. If these cannot be delivered, Australia must end its participation in TPPA negotiations.

“Based on the revelations contained within the recently leaked investment chapter and the draconian measures called for in the intellectual property chapter, the entire Agreement is a power grab by large corporations. They are taking advantage of the secrecy surrounding the negotiations to undermine democratic and legal principles that have taken centuries to establish,” said Simon Frew, Deputy President of Pirate Party Australia.

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Pirate Party Furious Over Roxon Secrecy Bill

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Pirate Party Australia are furious at the Attorney-General Nicola Roxon, who has recently announced plans for legislation that would make the spending of public money by parliamentarians totally exempt from Freedom of Information applications.

In a move that would further remove politicians and government departments from any form of accountability, is considering a bill that would deny access to the expenditure of MPs. 

This comes after the disclosure of Speaker Peter Slipper’s expenditure under the Freedom of Information Act[1]. The Attorney-General announced that the Government considered the disclosure of Slipper’s expenses to be an “anomaly”.

“It is typical of our representatives to propose undemocratic legislation that hides their own incompetence and regular abuse of public money,” said Brendan Molloy, Party Secretary. “A Government who would limit the availability of information to the Information Commissioner is a Government with something to hide, and we won’t stand for it.”

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Pirate Party Perturbed by Assange Extradition Verdict

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Pirate Party Australia are perturbed at yesterday’s ruling by the UK Supreme Court to extradite Julian Assange to Sweden. Contrary to the ignorant prejudicial opinions of Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, he has not been charged with any criminal offence in Sweden or any other country, yet has been held for over 500 days under house arrest.

“The Australian Government’s continued and willful ignorance of US intentions to extradite Mr. Assange, an Australian citizen, possibly on the grounds of espionage and conspiracy, is completely unacceptable. The government must be more active in seeking to ensure the safety of Mr. Assange,” said Simon Frew, Deputy President of Pirate Party Australia. “Our continued alliance with the United States should not be at the expense of the rights of Australian citizens.”

“While the case remains somewhat up in the air, it seems very likely he will face extradition to Sweden,” Mr Frew continued. “There are a number of concerning issues with the legal process. The Supreme Court used the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a document regarding the interpretation and operation of treaties between states, as a basis in their determination. This had not been raised by either side during the proceedings of the appeal. Legal analysis seems to indicate this may give Mr. Assange and his team opportunity to re-open the case.” 

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“Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement has no economic benefit,” says Pirate Party

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Transparency is a new idea to Australian Government, according to notes taken by Pirate Party Australia Secretary Brendan Molloy at the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) intellectual property meeting in Canberra last Thursday.

According the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), “the Australian Government will pursue a TPP outcome that eliminates or at least substantially reduces barriers to trade and investment” that will “also deal with behind-the-border impediments to trade and investment.”[1]

So far there has been no confirmation on exactly how the TPP will achieve these aims, as there have been no official drafts of the Agreement released, and the negotiators actively refuse to discuss the contents in anything other than vague and evasive statements.

At the meeting in Canberra, stakeholders were invited to participate in a question and answer session with the inter-departmental negotiators. Disappointingly, the negotiating team dodged almost all questions regarding the Agreement, including the impact it might have on the Australian Law Reform Commission’s copyright review. The negotiators also failed to give any definites about what intellectual property (IP) provisions would be included, and did not sufficiently address the concerns of those present.

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