Pirate Congress 2012

Date
Scheduled for July, 2012 (precise dates TBC).

Venue
The next Congress is to be held in Melbourne, Victoria.

Getting there
Information regarding transport, accommodation and other important information will be provided once an exact location is decided.

Tickets/RSVP
Ticketing system to be used for measuring attendance will be announced closer to the date.

WIFI
Details relating to the availability of wireless internet access will be announced closer to the date.

Minutes
Published after the Congress.

Requirements

 * List Here

National Council Elections
As per Article 2 of the Constitution, the National Council will be elected after deliberation at the National Congress. The day(s) will be used to discuss leadership candidates, policies, ideas and party structures. Voting will open after the deliberative process.

Dispute Resolution Committee Elections
As per Article 10 of the Constitution, at the National Congress "members of the Party must elect by simple majority elect three (3) members who will form the Dispute Resolution Committee. At least one member of the Dispute Resolution Committee should be legally qualified."

Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The Party is incorporated in NSW, and for the purposes of the Incorporations Act 1984 (NSW) the National Congress will serve as the AGM.

Party Platform and Policies
Policies are voted/decided on at the National Congress. Voting on policies will happen after the deliberative process. Procedural and amendment votes will only be available for those in attendance, adoption votes will be party wide. Policy submissions and topics for discussion should be circulated and on the wiki/forums, and [mailto:secretary@pirateparty.org.au secretary@pirateparty.org.au] informed well in advance, so that an agenda can be formulated. Rules for deliberative assembly allow for new business to be accepted at the Congress exist - however time constraints and unpreparedness will probably lead to a rejection of unannounced inclusions.

Motion 1
Motion: To amend the platform by replacing it with the presented revision (to be presented after National Council scrutiny).

Put by: Mozart Palmer

Vote Yes/No

Motion 2
Motion: To add to the platform, under the section "transparency," the following:

"In accordance with current regulations, all members of parliament and senators must disclose all gifts and donations. The resulting data must be placed in a searchable database which is made accessible online to the general public. Candidates and political parties must disclose donations from entities that amount to greater than $5000. The Australian Electoral Commission will manifest the information in a searchable database, accessible online to the general public."

Put by: Mozart Palmer

Vote Yes/No

Motion 3
Motion: To, following registration with the Australian Electoral Commission, rename the Media Relations Committee to the "Press Office," and the Head of Media Relations to "Press Officer." This is to bring it in line with domestic and international norms.

Put by: Mozart Palmer

Vote Yes/No

Motion 4
Motion: To offer to host the 2014 Pirate Parties International General Assembly in Sydney.

Put by: Mozart Palmer

Vote Yes/No

Motion 5
Motion: To create and deploy a "WelcomeBot" in the #PPAU IRC Channel.

WelcomeBot would act when it detects a new nick has joined the room, and display a message similar to the following:

"Hi [new nick]. Welcome to Pirate Party Australia's IRC Channel. We tend not to be watching 24/7, but some people who might be around are: [nick] [nick] [nick] [etc]."

This would draw attention to a pre-set number of people who are often around and can answer questions the person might have. The responsibility for implementation would fall on the IT committee.

Put by: Mozart Palmer

Vote Yes/No

Motion 6
Motion: To add to the platform, after "No Digital Rights Management," the following section:

"Unrestricted Format Shifting

For the convenience of consumers, and to uphold the principle of "Equitable Access to Culture, Information and Knowledge," no restrictions should be placed on the following: in circumstances where no financial or commercial gain is derived, or for educational purposes."
 * Technological format-shifting, whether physical or digital;
 * Translation into another language; and
 * Adaptation for the blind, deaf or similarly impaired, including braille translation, transcription of speech, or creation of spoken books,

Put by: Brendan Molloy and Mozart Palmer

Vote Yes/No

Constitutional Amendments
Proposed constitutional amendments should be added to this section.

Standing Orders
General assemblies are regulated by rules of order or standing orders that regulate the deliberative process. There is a draft of National Congress Standing Orders that you can contribute to.