Pirate Congress 2014

Date
19-20 July, 2014

Venue
The Irish Club 175 Elizabeth St Brisbane Qld 4000

Map: http://osm.org/go/ueD2VsqjJ--?m=&way=128686898 (Google: http://goo.gl/maps/YMPdw)

Website: http://queenslandirish.com

Tickets/RSVP
RSVP is required: http://piratecon2014.eventbrite.com.au

Tickets are $25 for members and $35 for non-members. Student concession is $15.

Online participation is free (with the option to donate), but online participants must also RSVP.

Online Participation
You should still RSVP in order to participate online!

For those who will be participating remotely, the URL for the whole weekend is http://livestream.pirateparty.org.au.

You will be able to watch all of the Congress from there, and take part in the proceedings as part of the chatroom. All motions will occur there, and remote participants may make comments that will be relayed to the room upon request to the host.

Wifi
Wifi is available at the venue, however, we cannot guarantee its adequacy.

Minutes
Minutes will be published here as soon as possible after the Congress.

Agenda

 * Draft Agenda

Programme

 * A compiled PDF including the agenda, blurb about the guest speaker, and all motions is available here.

Proposals

 * Current Proposed Motions
 * Constitutional Amendment Proposals
 * Electable Position Nominations

Guest speaker — Birgitta Jónsdóttir: The importance of Pirate Parties in 21st Century Lawmaking


Birgitta Jónsdóttir is an Icelandic "Poetician" who is currently serving as a member of the Icelandic Parliament for the Pirate Party, and is one of the founders of the party. Birgitta is also the founder and Chairperson of the International Modern Media Institute, better known as IMMI.

Birgitta first entered the Icelandic Parliament for the Civic Movement, which she co-created in 2009, a coalition of the grassroots movements that were formed in the wake of the financial crisis. The party got 7.2% of the national vote. She has served in all the major committees in the Parliament and is currently a co-chair in the Constitutional and Supervisory Committee, and a permanent member of the Icelandic delegation to the IPU. Birgitta introduced a horizontal structure to both parties she co-created and has enjoyed experimentation on leaderless politics with strong focus on reforming democracy, a constitutional rewrite for and by the people of Iceland, and direct democracy. She specializes in lawmaking for the 21st century.

Birgitta has worked as a volunteer and activist for various organisations including WikiLeaks, Saving Iceland, and Friends of Tibet in Iceland. She carries on being an activist in Parliament, a Poet and a Pirate. She organised Iceland’s first online broadcast in 1996, was the first female Icelandic web developer and has worked as a publisher in cyberspace for Beyond Borders since 1995.

Standing Orders
The National Congress will be regulated by standing orders which can be amended at Congress and must be agreed to before business starts.

Elections & Nominations
The weekend will be used for deliberation, and positions will be voted on using an online method over a seven day period. Results of the election will be published on the Party's website once that voting period closes.

The following positions will be elected:


 * National Council (9):
 * President
 * Deputy President
 * Secretary
 * Deputy Secretary
 * Treasurer
 * Deputy Treasurer
 * Registered Officer
 * Councillors (2)
 * Dispute Resolution Committee members (2)
 * Policy Development Officer (1)
 * State and Territory Coordinators (one per state/territory)

List of nominations for electable positions

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.

Constitutional amendments
Constitutional amendments must be submitted to [mailto:secretary@pirateparty.org.au secretary@pirateparty.org.au] before 11:59 pm on Friday 20 June 2014 (AEST).

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 proposals should be provided to the Policy Development Committee for feedback by emailing [mailto:policydev@pirateparty.org.au policydev@pirateparty.org.au] and circulated on Party forums and/or discussion lists. Final proposals should be submitted to [mailto:secretary@pirateparty.org.au secretary@pirateparty.org.au] at least 5 days before Congress so they can be allowed for in the agenda.

Instructions for internal elections
Instructions for completing ballots are provided when members receive the ballots, and can also be read here.