User:Mozart

Press Officer

Undergraduate music student, musician and writer.

Contact:

[mailto:mozart.palmer@pirateparty.org.au Email]

Twitter

Blog

2012 Congress Candidature
I have only been a member of Pirate Party Australia since around September, 2011. However, in my short time, I quickly took on the job of Head of Media Relations (renamed "Press Officer"), and I seem to have been fairly successful in that position. I have written the bulk of the content of our press releases since around October. Currently I study at the University of Western Sydney, in the final year of a Bachelor of Music with additional studies in written communication. As someone passionate about music and creative arts, I joined initially because I was interested in copyright reform – I saw the new opportunities being afforded to musicians and their fans through technology, and felt something had to be done to make copyright fair. During my time with Pirate Party Australia I have read extensively and come to understand the general pirate ideology in significant depth.

My contributions to Pirate Party Australia (and the movement as a whole) have so far included:
 * Countless press releases;
 * Extensive contributions to the Innovation Patent System and ACTA submissions, as well as assistance with the Trans-Pacific Partnership presentation given at Melbourne;
 * Regular attendance of meetings, both online and in person;
 * Participation in the PPI General Assembly 2012 for PPAU/PPNZ, with election to the PPI Court of Arbitration;
 * Active networking within the International community, particularly assistance with the establishment of the New York Pirate Party, including writing and editing parts of their Constitution.

2012 Congress Statement on PPI
Pirate Parties International is the international organisation to which Pirate Party Australia, and the majority of other Pirate Parties around the world belong. While I recognise the necessity for strong international relations and a united front to help push not just for domestic but also international change, I do not believe that PPI is the organisation with which this is best achieved.

PPI has done very little to aid our cause. It is extremely Euro-centric, and no amount of token effort to appease us is going to make the non-European parties feel as though they are considered as valuable as those within the EU. True, there has been success in elections in Sweden, Austria and Germany – but the trickle-down effect is not as strong as in Europe. Our geographical isolation and general political apathy, coupled with an unfavourable media environment does not impact on us as much as it should, or as much as the Europeans would like to think.

We have done more to network with other Pirate Parties simply through members talking to each other than PPI has ever done. The social aspects of the annual PPI GA are only valuable to those who can afford to attend. Through informal, discussions and mutual assistance, we have strong connections with the Dutch, New Zealand, UK and American Pirates in particular.

The formal structure of PPI is so rigid that common sense cannot prevail. Speaking as a member of the PPI Court of Arbitration: the structure is fundamentally flawed. When the rules are not clearly defined, yet are expected to be stuck to, we have problems. We can either have strictly adhered-to and complete rules, or informal and flexible rules. I will not be re-running for the Court of Arbitration at the next General Assembly. While I enjoy working at the international level, I do not want to be wasting my time dealing with the squabbles within an organisation that simply needs to relax.

I understand that consensus is often difficult and impossible to achieve. It would be idealistic to believe that it is otherwise. But we tolerate difference from those we fundamentally relate to, and we share ideas to promote a common goal. This is how any movement should work. But when individual pirates disagree on an international level to an extent where personal attacks are exchanged, this divides the movement for no good reason. When blocs develop between parties because the leaders of those parties share a mutual contempt for a leader of another, we must ask ourselves why we are doing this.

I became involved in the Pirate Party not because I wanted to be a politician. I saw something that I thought needed to be fixed, and wanted to help as much as I could. Internal mediation is necessary to keep the peace. But when disagreements occur that need not occur, when differences are highlighted because people refuse to build bridges and get over them, this is not progress. This is regression. This is not why I joined. I joined to build a better future. If that future looks like the past, then forget it.

PPI in its current form needs to die, and like a phoenix rising from the ashes, something should replace it. A community, not an institution. Pirate Parties are about sharing and about respect. It is time that our young movement grew up and stopped squabbling like children. If Pirate Party Australia were to motion to withdraw from PPI, I would not object. It has manifested itself into the kind of inefficient, archaic and stifling bureaucratic institution that we so earnestly try to do away with, and if we withdraw, I will certainly be resigning my position. However, I also feel there is merit in staying out of goodwill. The question is: do we want to stay and push for change from within, or do we want to abandon PPI and start anew?

We Are the Artists Too
An international association of Pirates who are also artists. The association would aim to raise awareness of the effects of copyright on artists, and also to promote and discover new business models and opportunities for artists in the emerging era of copyright reform. This is in reaction to the "We Are the Artists" group opposing copyright reform in Germany as a backlash against the Pirate Party there.

Some features might include:–
 * Informal structure with three positions elected at regular intervals (chair, deputy chair, and press officer):
 * Chair would facilitate meetings and organisational issues;
 * Deputy chair would work with the chair, and take over in case the Chair is unavailable;
 * Press officer would interact with media to promote the ideas publicly.
 * Distinctly separate from any current Pirate Party organisation – does not want to be PWB or PPI related;
 * Confined to creators only (broad term to be defined; a solution can be found I'm sure);
 * Adherence to the three-pirate rule;
 * No exclusion based on geography;
 * Requirement to actually be a member of a Pirate Party;
 * A general, non-contentious charter that members can agree and follow.