Pirate Congress 2016/Nominations

Adding a Nomination
If you wish to nominate yourself for a position, please create your nomination using the template below. If you need assistance adding your nomination, send an email to secretary@pirateparty.org.au and we'll help you out.

{{Candidate| |

Catty McCat
I am a cat!| How dare you question my justification!| I purr.| Maybe, I am a cat.| }}
 * None

= Nominations =

President
{{Candidate| |

Simon Frew
I am the current President and served in various positions on the National Council since before registration. I have helped guide the Party through both Federal elections we have contested. I regularly front the media and have spoken at numerous conferences and debates on behalf of the Party.|

I have been an activist for 20 years and have been a member of the Pirate Party since its foundation. Due to my experience and dedication to the movement, I feel that I am the best candidate to continue to serve as leader of the Party.

If elected President I will work to increase participation by members, grow the Party and our profile. I will strive to sharpen our critique of the growing Police state and fight back against the bi-partisan assault on our civil liberties and human rights.


 * I have contributed to countless press releases, spoken at a wide range of events, including the Sydney Film Festival, Whistleblowers Australia's AGM, Copyright is Theft debate at University of Technology Sydney and conducted numerous interviews on behalf of the Party. I have contributed to various legal reviews and internal policy debates which contribute to the intellectual substance of the Party.

I will continue to fight for civil liberties, governmental transparency and sensible Intellectual Property laws whether or not I am elected to the National Council. I am involved in politics for the long haul. I believe that if you aren't happy with the way things are, you must try to make it better. I can't imagine not being involved in the fight to make a better world and I believe the Pirate Party is the best organisation to do this because we are science based, principled, democratic and open to ideas and different views.

I am also a musician and an occasional producer of mashups. Being an artist helps lend weight to our arguments about intellectual property.| I support the Pirate Party platform and ideals and will do my best to uphold them into the future. I have been an activist for the last 20 years, so have participated in a wide range of movements and campaigns. I joined the Pirate Party in its very early days because it aligned with my beliefs and goals and joining was the best way I could contribute to politics in Australia. | }}
 * None

Deputy President
{{Candidate| |

Michael Keating
I joined the National council in 2014 as Registered Officer and was elected Deputy President in 2015. Prior to this I served as QLD coordinator. I have represented the Pirate Party in the media, contributed to press releases and communication from the party, even when working overseas during 2015. Achievements this year include changing the members meeting to a monthly strategy meeting in IRC, evaluating and proceeding with the MemberDB project and evaluating an online merch store set up to sell PPAU merchandise. I work in Business IT support and have a strong technology background, relevant to areas the Pirate Party Australia have strong policies.

Having been through my first federal election campaign, I've taken a lot on board on where we can improve as a party and wish to take my current experience of being on the National Council and help continue our growth and relevance in the Australian Political spectrum. Knowing the operations of the National Council put me in a good position and I hope the members are happy for me to continue to contribute at this level.

I believe I can help in continuing the work the previous National Council have done in improving the core of the party and making it functional and scalable. Improvements don't happen overnight and the previous National Council have taken steps to make the party more viable in the longer term. I pledge to continue these improvements to the core running of the party to ensure we can continue the fight with less pressure of day to day operations interfering. I have over 12 years experience working in or for small business in Australia including management and wish to continue sharing this experience in the National Council.

I also pledge to continue to spread the word about our policies in order to increase our profile following the federal election. Standing up against the erosion of civil liberties, attacks against most vulnerable in society and the ever increasing reduction of transparency in politics are topics worth standing up and fighting for. Since joining the party in 2014 I have helped campaign in the 2014 Griffith by-election, where Pirate Party Australia received the 4th highest vote. I have also contributed to press releases and interviews as QLD Co-ordinator and registered officer. I assisted with the 2016 federal election and learned a lot from more experienced heads, and hope this experience can continue to be used at this level.

The Pirate Party Australia have great policies and great people contributing and improving these policies. As always the challenge is having these policies seen by people outside out immediate supporters, which is challenging however not impossible. I would like to improve participation to get our message out further, as well as improve diversity within the party at all levels to make sure we represent all voice in Australia. Finally we as a party need to be prepared for another election, as the current government will not last. The next 12 months should have a focus on improving our position with a mind to campaigning again not long after the next National Council term expires. | I agree completely with the Parties' platform and ideals and will do my utmost to uphold them. I have never been a member of another political party.| }}
 * Twitter: @D_Keating

{{Candidate| |

Tom Randle

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Secretary
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Luke Housego
Long time supporter of Pirate Party and member since just after formally registered in Australia.

Internet and Digital rights activist for almost 20 years.

Experienced in Administration and operation of effective, growing social and political organisations.

Exceptionally experienced in online long term strategically focused activity.

Experienced fundraiser.

Professionally work in a leadership capacity for strategy, organisational design, business architecture and analytics.

Thinks Pirate Party Australia is a great name. The Pirate Party needs significant improvement in how it is organised and operated to be effective in pursuing our policy objectives. I am (probably) the best choice in the party to achieve this.| Stood for senate preselection position for Victoria for 2016. After winning preselection had to stand down position due to unexpected circumstances.

My goal is to transform the operational and management structure of PPAU to be a modern political party that is capable of achieving a 5% primary vote in a federal election.

Initial focus will be completely deconstructing and rebuilding the experience of being a Pirate Party Member, our identity, how we explore, understand and communicate our culture and experiences. The party will become fun, insightful, a hint irreverent and have a voice that is loud and relevant.

Our operational processes will be more transparent and require less reading of volumes of text before you can do anything. New members will feel like they are important and can contribute straight away in ways that are meaningful. Old members will have platforms and support for considerate nuanced debate and discussion. Fear of failure and fear to take risks will not be our culture. We are going to do a lot things, make a lot of mistakes, but learn a lot more and our intent and choices will always be anchored on our core principles of rights, liberty and transparency.

Once the organisation is in the process of becoming functional for a serious political party, I will then create a new fundraising function that is bigger than just scraping small amounts of cash from a small pool of supporters. We have a vision and value that is of strong interest to a lot of motivated individuals and also to many companies. We will be raising serious money once we take ourselves seriously as an organisation. Once this work is on the right track, I will not need to retain this position. This is not my career and a transition to next generation leadership to help them grow the party to become even better again is important and a sign of maturity. Planning for this form the start as an important part of a key role like this. Yes.

Big fan of Rick Falkvinge's view of the world.

Have been espousing and putting into action swarm and decentralised "social" activism in both online and "real world" actions for decades.

Former member of Australian Labor Party (left faction member)

Former member of Liberal Party of Australia (know thy enemy) 7 = * Here is an advertisement I created for the 2016 elections that did not really get promoted, but it may help a little understand where I come from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P7GdvMtsWg }}

Deputy Secretary
{{Candidate| |

Dan Shea

 * I have determination and energy. I feel that these attributes are something needed by the party and wish to make myself useful. I, unlike most Pirate members, do not come from an IT background. I left school after year 10 to take a bricklaying apprenticeship. After completing that that I ran my own company before moving into the Fire Protection industry. I now work in both a technical role, and a sales/client relationship role. I feel this gives me a wider perspective into how different demographics of Australians percieve things and respond to them than most party members have.

I am comfortable in front of cameras, and I am appearing in a documentary due to be released later in the year.

I also think Pirate Party is a great name


 * I want to help get things moving. We need energetic and effective leadership in order to grow the party and gain relevance, but we also need people not afraid to do whatever needs to be done. For this reason I am putting myself forward for several roles, Councillor, Deputy Secretary and Registered Officer.


 * None, other than activity on the forums, IRC and chat with members. I currently serve in no position and have no responsibilities, an issue I intend to remedy.

I have never felt a particular affiliation to a political party or movement before as I have always had fundamental disagreements with their platforms. This changed when I was introduced to the Pirate Party. When I read through the policy information I found nothing I disagreed with and many things I felt strongly in favour of. This led to me joining soon afterwards.
 * I have not been a member of any other political party. In elections previously I have almost always voted against whatever the current trend in my electorate was simply to reduce the 'safeness' of the seat and hopefully help move the government to more centre-orientated policies. My form of a protest vote I suppose.

}}
 * As a summary, I feel the most important things I offer are energy and a broader view than is traditional within the party.

{{CandidateRef| |

Tom Randle
See nomination details listed under Deputy President. }}

Treasurer
{{Candidate| |

Mark Gibbons
I've been the Treasurer for the past 12 months, and the Deputy Treasurer before that. Over that time we've improved PPAU's financial operations and built proper payment systems. We've set up a better banking system and a simpler and more robust payment process. I have a fair bit of time and experience in Treasury-specific stuff, in addition to years spent in jobs which deal with economics and finance.|

The next Treasury team will have important work to do. We will need to sort out and process our post-election financial returns with the AEC, we will need to get our merchandise store ticking over, and we will need to diversify our finances so we depend less on continual fundraising drives. I think this work is where I can be the most use. I'm a safe pair of hands when it comes to this kind of thing.|

I've helped run the party over the past few years. I prefer to work behind the scenes, but I've done a bit of media, been a candidate in the ACT, and advocated for PPAU and its policies in meetings and forums with other parties. I've handed out and worked for the party at elections. Before I was on the NC I was Policy Development Officer and had responsibility for leading the team which developed the 2013 election platform. I also oversaw preference negotiations for that election, and the follow-up in WA. I've also written the odd article, speech, and PR. |

I agree with our unique platform and fully support its core precepts including freedom of speech, privacy and liberty, scientific progress, and defence of the commons.

Before PPAU I was politically homeless except for a brief and misguided stint as an ALP-aligned student politician in the 1990s. |


 * Twitter

}}

Deputy Treasurer
{{Candidate| |

Peter Fulton
In my tenure as a Councillor since the end of 2015, I have observed the tasks that Treasury coordinate, and have considered this to be adequate for me to help fulfil and keep things running, especially with regards to movement of funds associated with campaigns and those raised by crowdsourcing.|

In reflection of my time as a Councillor, I have felt over time that I can be capable of doing more. If I am given a role that has specific duties, I can help enhance productivity by focusing time and effort on those specific responsibilities.|


 * I served in the role of Councillor since December 2015, volunteering in an NC-role capacity to conduct administrative duties as requested by other concurrent serving NC personnel when requirements were raised at fortnightly NC meetings.
 * I have contributed to all fund raising campaigns to date, as well as actively promote our crowdsourcing campaigns, including MemberDB and Propaganda Production for this year's Federal Election.
 * I helped handing out party fliers to the public in Sydney CBD leading up to the 2013 Federal Election.
 * I help radiate our existence across Social Media platforms as a member of the Social Media team.
 * I rationalise our name and position to the public when our legitimacy is questioned (it's simply an education issue and their willingness to listen).
 * I am a member of the International Relations Committee.
 * I own the domain name savetheinter.net which I have donated its use to serve the interest of the party and the net neutrality cause overall.|

Yes. I enjoy the uniqueness of our party as one that does not rely on celebrity frontrunners to exist, whether they were existing celebrities or reluctant new ones as a result of publicity by media coverage.|

}}
 * Twitter
 * [mailto:peter.fulton@pirateparty.org.au Email]
 * IRC: CAPT-Irrelevant
 * Discuss forum profile|

Registered Officer
{{Candidate| |

Dan Shea

 * I have determination and energy. I feel that these attributes are something needed by the party and wish to make myself useful. I, unlike most Pirate members, do not come from an IT background. I left school after year 10 to take a bricklaying apprenticeship. After completing that that I ran my own company before moving into the Fire Protection industry. I now work in both a technical role, and a sales/client relationship role. I feel this gives me a wider perspective into how different demographics of Australians percieve things and respond to them than most party members have.

I am comfortable in front of cameras, and I am appearing in a documentary due to be released later in the year.

I also think Pirate Party is a great name


 * I want to help get things moving. We need energetic and effective leadership in order to grow the party and gain relevance, but we also need people not afraid to do whatever needs to be done. For this reason I am putting myself forward for several roles, Councillor, Deputy Secretary and Registered Officer.


 * None, other than activity on the forums, IRC and chat with members. I currently serve in no position and have no responsibilities, an issue I intend to remedy.

I have never felt a particular affiliation to a political party or movement before as I have always had fundamental disagreements with their platforms. This changed when I was introduced to the Pirate Party. When I read through the policy information I found nothing I disagreed with and many things I felt strongly in favour of. This led to me joining soon afterwards.
 * I have not been a member of any other political party. In elections previously I have almost always voted against whatever the current trend in my electorate was simply to reduce the 'safeness' of the seat and hopefully help move the government to more centre-orientated policies. My form of a protest vote I suppose.

}}
 * As a summary, I feel the most important things I offer are energy and a broader view than is traditional within the party.

{{Candidate| |

David Crafti
I've been involved in the party since it's initial formation, serving as President in the first congress year of 2009/2010, followed by serving on the Dispute Resolution Committee for 2 years, as well as taking an active role in policy development. Over the last year, I've served as Registered Officer, dealing with the AEC regarding candidate nominations and the like. I'm a CTO at a successful startup by day, and I completed a Master of Laws degree in my spare time in order to understand legal and policy issues from the perspective of the sorts of people who end up writing our legislation. | I would like to continue contributing to the party, as I have over the last 7 years. Remaining as Registered Officer is my first preference, as if I'm lucky enough to remain on the National Council, there will be lots of paperwork to change across to someone else, so this role is probably most appropriate for me.| In addition to the roles I've mentioned, I've spoken on behalf of the party at a few rallies opposing censorship and supporting Wikileaks, been interviewed on the radio a few times and been on TV once. I've been on the ground at polling booths during the last couple of elections, and handed out information at the Higgins by-election before we were even registered, and I've written quite a bit of a few of our policies, as part of the Policy Development Committee. | Absolutely. As I've said in previous years in response to this question, I've been opinionated for years, but it was only in discovering the Pirate Party that I found a group of civil libertarians as staunchly in support of so many of the same things as me. I've never been a member of any other political party. | }}
 * Twitter: @dcrafti

Councillor (2 positions)
{{Candidate| |

Andrew Downing
One of the pillars of Pirate Party Australia, is that we favour open, transparent, participatory democracy. At one of my first PPAU congresses in Melbourne, not long after joining PPAU, I presented my vision of an online democracy system for decision making and policy creation. You can read that here: Polly.

At the time I was not convinced that I really knew enough about how decision making and policy development in particular really worked. However, I'm in this for the long haul, so I threw myself into policy development. I've spent four years in policy development now; the last two as Policy Development Officer. One way or another, I have either created or influenced a great many of the policies in our current platform.

Now, I want to get back to working on participatory democracy in PPAU. I want to work on participatory democracy as a National Councillor, because some of the possibilities moving forward include not just a bit of installation or development, but collaboration with existing solution creators, with online communities, and possibly with one or another of the participatory democracy centric parties in Australia, or some hybrid of all this. It also involves a lot of consultation.

These sort of choices will have a huge impact on the future operation of PPAU. It needs to happen with engagement into the NC.| Contributions so far include:
 * 2 Years as member Policy Development Committee
 * 2 years as Policy Development Officer
 * Contributed to majority of policies in our platform.
 * Wrote: Polly
 * Handed out HTVs at polling booths in the last two federal elections.
 * Attended the last five National Congress meetings in person.

In future: I wholeheartedly agree with our platform. I contributed to much of it.
 * I expect that I will continue to contribute to policy development, regardless of whether I am elected to this position or not.
 * I'd really like to contribute by working on the future of participatory democracy within PPAU.

I have never been a part of any other political movement. None of them were worthy.| }}
 * None

{{CandidateRef| |

Tom Randle
See nomination details listed under Deputy President. }}

{{Candidate| |

Alex Jago
Since 2014 I've been a reasonably active ordinary member. Now, I'm putting my hand up to be more involved still, and to take on some formal responsibilities -- if only to help spread the load! Outside of my life as a Pirate, I'm finishing up my electrical/computer engineering degree, and for several years now I've been a fundraising officer for my choir. So I've got some skills in helping run an organisation. |

I'm running specifically for Councillor, as an 'entry-level', generic position where I can help out others as needed. |

I've been a part of both election campaigns in my area since I joined (Griffith by-election and 2016 general election). In particular, this year I have contributed: my time on the day, money, memes, volunteer coordination, and evangelism in my other communities (when it's been relevant). As an active user of both our IRC and Discourse platforms, I believe I have a solid understanding of the current state of our internal culture. Our pressing task over the next year is to grow not just in total members but active, engaged members. I don't pretend to have a magic solution, but as a Councillor, I'll support things that seem like they'll help, with both my time and my influence. In particular, there are three such things which already exist or are in progress: in-person events, a more user-friendly online chat system, and development of our nascent liquid democracy platform -- I hope to get stuck into the latter regardless of whether I'm elected or not. |

Yes. I've also helped out various Greens campaigns as an HTV-person and map-drawer. |

I'm particularly proud to be topping (at time of writing) the all-time 'Likes Given' list on our Discourse instance. }}

{{Candidate| |

Emily Sievers
I joined the Pirate Party last year and while I am relatively new I have been interested in Party policies for some time. I am nominating myself for this position as I felt that my potential to actively participate in the party was limited as just a regular member. I have suggestions for policies and strategies for reaching out to more Australians that I would like to share and being part of Congress would get my voice heard. Outside of the pirating life I have worked in higher education, research, museums, IT, engineering, robotics, and administration. I have superhuman writing and people skills. I am particularly interested in the ethical and practical implications of emerging and developing technology; I am very fond of robots. There are rumours I am a cyborg but that’s just my llama spreading lies about me.| I am interested in a number of areas within the Party, but as I am relatively new I am applying for the Councillor position as a way of providing assistance generally to people who have been around for longer and know what they’re doing.| I supported one of the Party’s Queensland Senate candidates in the lead up to the recent election. I took photos for campaign material (photography is one of my many spare-time pursuits) and assisted in Twitter updates. I was also involved in setting up Party signs on election day as well as handing out how-to-vote cards. Election Day was an insightful experience where I had the opportunity to talk to both voters and campaigners from other parties. I would very much like to be involved in drafting policies (putting those great editorial skills to use) and brainstorming ideas for future endeavours. If I am given the opportunity I will make every effort to involve local communities with the Party in meaningful ways that benefit everyone.| The Pirate Party’s mission statement and policies closely align with my own ideals. I believe the Party needs to gain more public interest to make more of an impact but the policies are sound. I have not previously been a member of any political party but I should disclaim that I casually assisted friends who were involved in student union politics at the University of Queensland back in our carefree student days. By “assisted” I mean I wore a t-shirt bearing the Reform Party logo and handed out how-to-vote cards that had been printed on a dirt-poor student budget.| 7= * Just a pirate link: https://www.facebook.com/ponytakesphotos/photos/a.294071170800720.1073741825.294070054134165/348925285315308/?type=3&theater }}

{{CandidateRef| |

Peter Fulton
See nomination details listed under Deputy Treasurer. }}

{{Candidate| |

Dan Shea

 * I have determination and energy. I feel that these attributes are something needed by the party and wish to make myself useful. I, unlike most Pirate members, do not come from an IT background. I left school after year 10 to take a bricklaying apprenticeship. After completing that that I ran my own company before moving into the Fire Protection industry. I now work in both a technical role, and a sales/client relationship role. I feel this gives me a wider perspective into how different demographics of Australians percieve things and respond to them than most party members have.

I am comfortable in front of cameras, and I am appearing in a documentary due to be released later in the year.

I also think Pirate Party is a great name


 * I want to help get things moving. We need energetic and effective leadership in order to grow the party and gain relevance, but we also need people not afraid to do whatever needs to be done. For this reason I am putting myself forward for several roles, Councillor, Deputy Secretary and Registered Officer.


 * None, other than activity on the forums, IRC and chat with members. I currently serve in no position and have no responsibilities, an issue I intend to remedy.

I have never felt a particular affiliation to a political party or movement before as I have always had fundamental disagreements with their platforms. This changed when I was introduced to the Pirate Party. When I read through the policy information I found nothing I disagreed with and many things I felt strongly in favour of. This led to me joining soon afterwards.
 * I have not been a member of any other political party. In elections previously I have almost always voted against whatever the current trend in my electorate was simply to reduce the 'safeness' of the seat and hopefully help move the government to more centre-orientated policies. My form of a protest vote I suppose.

}} {{CandidateRef| |
 * As a summary, I feel the most important things I offer are energy and a broader view than is traditional within the party.

David Crafti
See nomination details listed under Registered Officer. }}

Dispute Resolution Committee Member (2 positions)
{{Candidate| |

Mozart Olbrycht-Palmer
I have an understanding and diplomatic temperament, and a keenness to help resolve disputes. I have a degree in law, which included a subject devoted entirely to dispute resolution. I have also completed the coursework for a degree in legal practice, which emphasised dispute resolution skills.| I have made sustained contributions to the Pirate Party over the years, but as I've finished university and will be working full time for at least the next two years, I will likely have to reduce my contributions significantly. It is a running joke within the Pirate Party that we'll mark the calendar the day that the Dispute Resolution Committee is asked to resolve a conflict. Nevertheless, it is an important role and as we hopefully continue to expand our membership numbers and see an increase in active members, disputes will be inevitable. It is important that we do not repeat the last year and have an incomplete Dispute Resolution Committee, just in case it's needed. Given my qualifications, the Dispute Resolution Committee would gain a valuable member, and give me an opportunity to continue contributing where possible.|
 * Press Officer (2011–)
 * Deputy Secretary (2012–2014)
 * Member of the Court of Arbitration of Pirate Parties International (2012)
 * Policy Development Officer (2013–2014)
 * Member of the Policy Development Committee (2013–)
 * Inquiries Officer (2014–)

If elected I would competently work to assist the resolution of disputes if and when they occur within the Party.| I agree wholeheartedly with the Pirate Party's platform and ideals, having written and contributed to many of the Pirate Party's policies, and advocated those policies in submissions to various governmental, parliamentary and independent inquiries on behalf of the Pirate Party. I have previously been involved with Pirate Parties International and PirateTimes, the Pirate Movement's news outlet. I am also a member of Pirate Party UK.| }}
 * Blog
 * I am contactable by:
 * Email — [mailto:mozart.palmer@pirateparty.org.au mozart.palmer@pirateparty.org.au]
 * Twitter — @OlbrychtPalmer
 * IRC — Mozart

{{Candidate| |

Hayden Dwyer
As a founding member of PPAU, I have attended the foundation meetings and was heavily involved in the drafting of the first constitution of the Party. As such, I have an intimate knowledge of the spirit of the rules and regulations binding members of the Party. I have been a member of the Dispute Resolution Committee since its inception, and have previously held the role of Deputy Treasurer.| As a member of the DRC, I hope that I can, if the need arises, help to mitigate any infighting between our members. While I don't see myself sitting on the national council again, I still view PPAU as a crucial party in Australian politics, and I'd like to do whatever I can to ensure our members feel comfortable, and want them to know that they have an avenue to pursue any disputes they may have with other party members. | As stated above, I have been a member of PPAU since its infancy in 2009, and was involved in the drafting of the constitution, much of which is still used now. I have previously been a member of the National Council as Deputy Treasurer, and attended the National Congress as a physical representative in that role. I was also at one stage involved with the IT Working Group (when it was the IT Committee), though left due to the large number of members involved. I have attended several rallies/protests hosted/co-hosted/attended by PPAU, though I haven't done so lately due to living overseas. Again, as stated above, I hope to further the pirate movement by keeping disputes within the party to a minimum, which I believe will ensure that we can continue to attract members to a friendly, open environment. | I heavily agree with the core principles of the Party, though I don't hesitate to say when I believe a policy may step outside of the principles of free culture, civil liberty or intellectual rights (and may therefore alienate members/voters). I have never been a member of another party or political movement. | }}
 * None