Pirate Party slams Attorney-General for whistleblower comments

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Pirate Party Australia is stunned by the Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who in a speech to the Security Government conference in Canberra claimed that Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning did not release information related to government ‘wrongdoing.’ The Attorney-General stated that neither are whistleblowers for this reason[1].

“The Attorney-General appears to have forgotten that the ‘Collateral Murder’ video released by Manning clearly shows US pilots firing on civilians in Iraq[2],” said Brendan Molloy, lead Senate candidate in NSW. “What exactly does Mr Dreyfus mean when he says ‘government wrongdoing’? The US President is, as head of government, commander-in-chief of the United States military — is killing civilians not an act of government wrongdoing?”

“Surely covering up mistakes is not the mark of a transparent and competent government that shows respect for the electorate? The secret surveillance programs undertaken by the US National Security Agency do not foster trust between the state and the citizen, and undermines the very fabric of modern democracy.”

The Party believes that while a certain amount of surveillance is necessary, it should have judicial oversight in the form of a warrant, and should only be targeted at those in the warrant. There is nothing wrong with limited telecommunications interception powers being exercised in this manner, but the Australian Government’s approach has been dubious at best.

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Government Shifting Power Away From People

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This is an opinion piece authored by Simon Frew, President of Pirate Party Australia. It has been sent to ABC’s The Drum for publication.

The balance of power between citizens and the state is shifting on a number of fronts. On one hand, government agencies are becoming increasingly secretive, exemplified by recent recommendations to the Attorney-General’s Department to reduce access to government documents through Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation. On the other hand, there is increasing surveillance of citizens and a continual, rapid growth in the reach of security agencies.

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Liberal Party ‘copyfraud’ a salient reminder of copyright as censorship

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As the major parties descend into an ever increasingly infantile debate, Fairfax reporter Judith Ireland reports that copyright law is being engaged as a tool to suppress parody videos on YouTube in the Australian election campaign[1]. While this may appear trivial, it illustrates a larger, more serious issue.

“It’s an alarming development, however not surprising, that copyright is now being used as a tool for censorship in Australian politics. This is a perfect example of how copyright can be utilised to undermine free speech. While the subject here may be a relatively childish parody, if such abuse of copyright law were to become normalised it could impede legitimate political discourse and speech during a time-sensitive election campaign,” said Simon Frew, President of Pirate Party Australia.

Unfortunately it is very easy to use copyright as a censorship tool as the onus of proof is on the person being targeted with a takedown notice. In issues where time is of the essence, a takedown notice can be used to silence an opponent and by the time they have appealed and had their material reinstated, the opportunity to get a message heard can be missed. According to Google over one third of takedown notices are not valid copyright claims[2] and examples of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) being used for censorship are broad and many, be it doctors using it to silence negative reviews[3], businesses silencing competitors[4], through to it being used to remove video footage of war crimes[5].

“There are many issues with copyright and this is a clear illustration of one of them. The Pirate Party provides the most comprehensive intellectual property rights reform platform[6] of all parties in this election, and with the copyright monopoly threatening to step up the campaign after the election[7], those that value free culture, information and knowledge and reasonable intellectual property rights should consider a vote for the Pirate Party as insurance against draconian reforms proposed by industry bodies,” concluded Mr. Frew.

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Pirate Party announces Senate candidates

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Following the announcement of Australia’s 2013 Federal Election, to take place on the 7th of September, Pirate Party Australia is pleased to announce its final candidate line up for the Senate. The Party will be fielding Senate candidates in all four eastern states.

In NSW the ballot will comprise of Brendan Molloy and David Campbell; in Queensland, Melanie Thomas and Liam Pomfret; in Victoria, Joe Miles and Geoff Hammett; and in Tasmania, Thomas Randle and Thomas Storey.

The Pirate Party’s platform centres around civil liberties[1] (including privacy, freedom of speech and opposition to censorship), copyright and patent reform[2][3], and greater government transparency[4]. Other issues the Party has addressed include education, tax, welfare, energy, the environment, asylum seekers, marriage and drugs[5].

Pirate Party Australia will be pioneering a new method of preferencing in this election. Practising what it preaches, the Pirate Party will be transparently preferencing other parties — all members will be asked to rank other parties to determine how preferences will flow. Parties have been invited to respond with a letter to Pirate Party Australia’s members outlining why they are deserving of preferences.

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Australia complicit in US surveillance scandal, Pirate Candidates demand answers

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A leak reported by the Guardian yesterday has revealed yet further information on the extent of the US National Security Agency’s worldwide surveillance operations. The leaks, provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, indicate that NSA analysts have been permitted near-unrestricted access to vast databases of ’emails, online chats and the browsing histories of millions of individuals’. This includes data relating to citizens worldwide, including Australia. The newly released slides are explicit in naming Australia, and prove that Australian spy agencies are recipents of information collected by this program[1].

Training materials for the program, called XKeyscore, describe how databases can be mined by filling in a simple electronic form, providing only a minimal justification for the search. The Guardian reports that the form is not reviewed by a court or any NSA personnel before it is processed. The program collects nearly everything a typical Internet user does. The lack of legal or political oversight means this could be used on anyone in this country with no real justification. This suggests that Australian agencies have full access to our most private communications. Currenty there has been no formal public debate, announcements or acknowlegement from the government.

“I’m appalled by this latest revelation,” said Qld lead Senate candidate Melanie Thomas. “Not only is the NSA conducting a clandestine, warrantless surveillance program under the guise of the PATRIOT Act, but we now know that an NSA operator can uncover the most private communications by simply completing an electronic form. This is an outrageous abuse of civil liberties and totally negates the premise of ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ In fact, it reverses this legally recognised concept and criminalises everybody. Everyone is a suspect in the eyes of the NSA.”

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