Pirate Congress 2017/Nominations

National Council

President

Emily Sievers

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

As a Councillor I have worked alongside the incumbent President for the past twelve months and have insight into how the National Council operates. I have a track record of integrity and honesty and I make a point of being approachable. I am always keen to listen to my team, whether it be for brainstorming or complaints, and I act to remedy their concerns. That said, I have low tolerance for bullshit and will cut to the crux of an argument rather than waste everyone’s time on problems that only serve to shit-stir.

I don’t consider myself a politician or a boss. I see myself as a regular pleb trying to make the country a better place. I stand for transparency and keeping the bastards honest.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

Normally I would not make the bold move of nominating for President but as our illustrious leader has decided to not recontest the position I decided to put my money where my mouth is and go for it. I have exciting plans for the Party that would get Pirates more in the public eye over the next twelve months.

What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

I was elected to the position of Councillor at last year’s Congress and in the past year I have been fairly active in my hometown of Brisbane running meetings and generally getting my merry band of local Pirates out and about. We faced a few obstacles last year getting ourselves off the ground but it speaks of the quality of Brisbane's Pirates that we have built a strong, dedicated team in regular contact. In the event of being elected President, I intend to carry on the good work at home and encourage Pirates nationally to put their best feet forward and get things done. I would be delighted to support members wishing to stand in upcoming elections. I also would like to see the Party more united on the issues and policies we currently have some disagreement on and intend to bring some coherence to the Party through healthy discussion and action.

Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

I am fundamentally on board with the Party’s mission and constitution. I stand by my ideals and, while I am expertly diplomatic with people who disagree with me, I don’t back down or compromise on ideals when I am tasked with representing them. I have not been a member of any other political parties; however, back in my undergraduate days I had first forays into politics as a comradely helper to friends involved with the Labor Party at the University of Queensland.

Additional Documentation:

• Sometimes I’m interesting on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilythepirate/

Luke Housego

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

Member of Pirate Party Australia since a little after its inception. Experienced in building organisations both internally focused and externally focused.

Pro science. Evidence and data is almost everything. Acts of will is the rest.

Charming, slightly smarmy, surprisingly nice in person, oddly enough a little humble when offline. Makes many mistakes, usually not shy of admitting it, nor shy of taking advice. Deeply respectful, despite many and vocal disagreements of efforts of previous executive leaders.

Professional strategist and communicator. Apparently in corporate psych testing profile things they make you take for some jobs I score exceptionally highly in verbal logic whatever that means.

Lawful Evil.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

The party needs strong leadership, a clear vision and someone to turn that vision into reality using a mix of inspiration, effective strategic engagement and hard pragmatism.

I am on record, excessively so for agitation towards accelerating internal improvements as a priority for the party. I stand by this, and this is the primary reason I think I am a necessary candidate. The party has made nearly no progress in the last twelve months. Who you vote into the executive is the choice you are making to change this.

Our current momentum is not good enough for what should be the pinnacle Australian political party for digital and civil liberty.

What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

Won preselection for PPAU senate candidacy for Victoria, but withdrew to other commitments. Other commitments no longer exist.

Came 2nd last year for PPAU Secretary in the most contentious election for a long time ("ever" was one tweet) for PPAU. It was twittered a lot.

Recently re-wrote vision statement of Pirate Party AU with help and guidance from Tom Randle. I recommend him, even over me should there be a choice for a position on the executive.

Please note as stated elsewhere I have not donated a cent to the pirate party, and am not poor nor miserly. This is still true. I do not donate to charities on principle, but do give support including financial to professionally run organisations that are pursuing important agendas. There is a difference.

Last year my secretary candidacy was strongly attacked, arguably the only one attacked with such vigour, and yet still secured a significant portion of the votes. I am a candidate that does not shy from controversy, nor from standing on their principles in the face of adversity. If you want a "Hold the door!" self sacrificing leader, your looking at one.

Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

I remain in the Pirate Party because its founding focus and culture I believe is fundamentally representative of my own core belief systems. I am left socialist leaning, but with economic pragmatism and believe more than anything that digital liberties are the most important issue facing us into the future.

I am a technology activist, and have been at times linked to various movements in that space. I do not however classify myself as an anarchist. Not here to smash the system, I'm here to make it better.

Formerly member of Australian Liberal Party (to see what its like from the inside, was offered factional support from the dominant faction to take secretary or president role for Richmond / Kew branch)

Formerly member of Australian Labor Party, Left Faction. Second to the then scarily effective backroom young Labor master deal maker, who was my mentor.

Built and led a Young Labor faction that took control of student organisations of Southern Cross university for 3 years.

Involved in helping a candidate running a Bill Of Rights campaign successfully get elected to the senate in NSW.

Involved in national and state elections as an organiser for ALP.

Involved in ALP and union activities and protests in an organiser perspective.

I do not ever apologise for my culture and being from the internet. This is often confused with being a troll, a chauvinist, homophobic, ignorant etc. I'm sane, educated, sophisticated, saavy even and still choose this culture.

Pirate Party Australia will remain named Pirate Party Australia while ever I am in it. We are the living tradition and culture of the earliest and most professional digital activists and we have never been more relevant to Australia than right now.

Additional Documentation:

• Pirate Party Forum https://discuss.pirateparty.org.au/u/edeity/activity
• Linkedin https://linkedin.com/in/luke-housego-9a418bbb
• Reddit https://www.reddit.com/user/edeity/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/edeity1
• I say a lot online, much in jest or parody. Even I don't agree with a lot of it. But it's there, I don't delete things I write because they are unpopular and always happy to discuss.

Deputy President

Simon Frew

This candidate has withdrawn their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

I have been the President of the Pirate Party for the last couple of years. It is a high pressure role and I have other responsibilities, so rather than burn myself out trying to run the Party for another year, I thought it wise to step back for my own sanity.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

I want to focus on getting the organisational side more together this coming term and spark more member involvement.

What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

I have served in various roles for the party since its creation and have served as President for the last two years.

I will continue to be involved in various party activities, if the next National Council is cool with it and there is time, I would like to make some inroads into NSW state politics. As mentioned above, I want to work on building member engagement and activity.

Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

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.

Additional Documentation:

• None

Emily Sievers

See nomination details under President.

Luke Housego

See nomination details listed under President.

Secretary

Simon Gnieslaw

This candidate has withdrawn their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

I run my own business (yeah another IT guy) and also a gaming crew of approximately 2000 members, both of which I started from scratch. Both have many projects and challenges - common in the running any organisation

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

I am probably not the most qualified person out there, but nobody else has volunteered yet which means I'm the most qualified of those who have volunteered. If someone else volunteers later on, I would not be upset if I miss out and would happily contribute what I can in an unofficial capacity.

I think that it would be a difficult job, and that's probably why no one else has come forward yet, but someone has to do it and I would enlist help from others in the party where I can to help out, rather than to try doing everything myself.

If I win the position, I will definitely commit all the time I can to it, and I realise that this job carries a lot of responsibility.

I feel like in the past year the Pirate Party Australia didn't achieve much, and actually went backwards with a Forum "Data Loss Incident". One thing that I promise is making sure that we have regular data backups and checking them too.

Australian Politics continues to be quite volatile even without an announced election so now is the time to get our message out there before every party and his dog is trying to be heard, and be ready to go for whenever a hot topic in politics (or an election) hits.

What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

I handed out Pirate Party Australia how to vote cards (with my dog) in the 2016 Federal Election. I suggested a Panel for PAX Australia 2016 which ended up being a full house, and helped topic ideas and some last minute preparations

Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

I am totally on board with Pirate Party Australia ideals. I have my own personal opinions which are slightly different to the official platform in some areas (I personally agree with about 90%) and I think that's normal to have opinions which not everyone agrees with. Independent opinion is core to enabling the party's platform & policies to go further.

I understand that of I had an official role within the party, then I must always present the opinion of the party as voted by our members when acting in an official capacity.

I have never been part of any other political movement.

Additional Documentation:

Tom Randle

This candidate has won their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

My professional and life experience covers theatre and event production, branding and marketing, project management, as well as being a programmer for the last 9 years.

I'm seeking re-election to the National Council to continue the work of our Party and of the National Council.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

My focus during the next term of the National Council will cover some themes I've put forward before, and some new ones.

Communications - Community - Participation - Organising - Campaigning

My priorities:

• Continuing to make improvements in our membership communication systems and improving member participation between congresses.
  • All our members need better access to tools and the community we have here to fully participate from the day they join.
• Preparing for and reaching a critical mass.
  • I want to see people working for us and paid full time as soon as it is financially sustainable.
• Providing our members with the resources and support they need from the National Council to make the changes they can see we need.

What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

In this last year as Deputy Secretary on the National Council I have personally driven major projects and improvements to the Party, they include:

• The redesign of our main website. Which launched earlier this year with a new theme, information architecture, and content.
• A refresh of our social media branding banners, logos etc. across all our primary social media channels, following discussion and feedback on designs and colours.
• Implemented major changes to our Party email mailing lists, including new Party members being added when they join and a merge of our current members. This means we are finally able to communicate properly with our membership via email.
• Finally and most importantly, I took over development of our membership database project after it had stalled. I have put a lot of effort into this project and getting it finished. It is now in production for new Party members and existing members will get account invitations very soon.

Since becoming a member I've contributed across many areas of our organisation.

Other accomplishments I'm proud of:

• being the lead Senate candidate for Tasmania at the 2013 federal election.
• as the Campaigns Officer for a while, as well as running the Campaigns Committee.
• as a member of the Elections Committee.
• as the first Tasmanian State Coordinator.
• helping out on our campaigns and fundraisers.
• continuing to contribute to our social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ over many years.
• producing things! Posters, flyers, designing and building our current website theme and much of the content, letter boxing flyers, contributing to press releases etc.

Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

I agree with our platform, believe in our founding principles and I have not been involved in any other political parties.

Additional Documentation:

• Twitter
• Rundll on IRC

Deputy Secretary

Tom Randle

This candidate has withdrawn their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

See nomination details listed under Secretary.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

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What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

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Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

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Additional Documentation:

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Simon Gnieslaw

This candidate has won their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

See nomination details listed under Secretary.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

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What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

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Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

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Additional Documentation:

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Treasurer

Mark Gibbons

This candidate has won their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

I've been the Treasurer for the past two years. In that time we've trimmed costs, set up a better banking system and improved our 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.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

I imagine I can be safe pair of hands in this position if that is needed. However, I strongly encourage others to consider joining the NC including its Treasury positions. I can show you the ins and outs.

What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

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 various elections. Before I was on the NC I was Policy Development Officer and developed a lot of the early, core policy in the leadup to the 2013 election. I've done preference negotiations and written the odd article, speech, and PR.

Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

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.

Additional Documentation:

• Twitter

Deputy Treasurer

Simon Frew

This candidate has won their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

See nomination details listed under Deputy President.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

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What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

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Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

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Additional Documentation:

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Registered Officer

Alex Jago

This candidate has won their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

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 and now librarian for my choir. So I've got some skills in helping run an organisation.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

I'm running for Registered Officer and also for Councillor. Registered Officer is a quite well-defined position and the duties this year will likely be minimal (next federal election is expected about a month after Congress next year). I support the proposal to abolish the position in favour of having a third Councillor. If elected as RO, I will consider myself to be a third Councillor in spirit --- someone in an 'entry-level', generic position where I can help out others as needed --- just with some additional duties.

What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

I've been a part of both election campaigns in my area since I joined (Griffith by-election and 2016 general election). In particular, last year I contributed: my time on the day, money, memes, volunteer coordination, and evangelism in my other communities (when it's been relevant). This year I've regularly attended the meet ups that Emily S has been so diligently organising, and we'll be getting some uni-based promo done in the coming semester. I've drawn up a decent chunk of artwork and started an initiative to keep authorisation tags up to date.

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 remains 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.

Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

Yes. I've never been a member of any party except PPAU, and I hope that never changes.

I've also helped out various Greens campaigns as an HTV-person, door-knocker and map-drawer. (The first two count as campaigning skills development.)

Additional Documentation:

I'm alexj on IRC; my Discourse profile is at https://discuss.pirateparty.org.au/u/alexjago and I'm @alexjago51 on Twitter.

Councillor (2 positions)

Alex Jago

This candidate has withdrawn their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

See nomination details listed under Registered Officer.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

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What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

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Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

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Additional Documentation:

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John August

This candidate has won their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

I have stood for election in the seat of Bennelong at the last election. I have been interested in Pirate Party ideas for quite some time and sympathise with them. I have been active in political parties and activist groups for a great deal of time, and bring that experience to the position.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

The position of Councillor represents contributing the party at a higher level than just being a member, but does not suggest past involvement in the committee or familiarity with details of Pirate Party process. I am putting myself forward for the position partly because of the encouragement of other members and the president to make a contribution; it is not something I am wedded to and would be happy for all the positions ( including this one ) to be filled by other people.

What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

I have stood for election, and have taken an ongoing interest in party ideas and turning up to pub and other gatherings. At the same time as I am impressed with pirate party ideas, I'm frustrated that they do not have more prominence in the broader community. That is a challenge I hope to put my mind to and contribute to discussions and initiatives in this area, though I acknowledge my plans are not well formed.

Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

I strongly identify with pirate party ideas, as is referenced by my writings in flyers at the last election and also on my own website ( see later) . I've been in the Secular Party of Australia and the Abolish State Governments Party. I'm also currently involved with numerous activist groups, including the NSW Humanists and the Sydney Outdoor Lighting Improvement Society. I also host a program on community radio, Roving Spotlight.

Additional Documentation:

My website is at johnaugust.com.au

Simon Frew

This candidate has withdrawn their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

See nomination details listed under Deputy President.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

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What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

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Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

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Additional Documentation:

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Miles Whiticker

This candidate has won their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

I have been following the party for around 8 years since it's inception in Australia, and a member for most of that. My introduction to the Pirate movement was Kevin Rudd's Great Firewall of Australia in '07 where the nascent Pirate movement (and I!) were involved with spreading information and awareness of the issues. As a long time online gamer I've developed real strategies for building communities, event organising and maintaining member engagement which I began bringing offline to help the Pirate Party Queensland branch about 1-2 years ago.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

My participation over the years has always been noncommittal, but I think I'm ready to start moving forward to helping the party in more tangible ways. I am not going to revolutionise the party overnight but hopefully I can lay the groundwork by sharing strategies and techniques I've developed.

What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

I have organised leaflet handouts within the Queensland branch, both at electoral booths and between or in the runup to elections. I am also a member of the social media team (Twitter) where I develop original content to spread Pirate ideas as well as helping to spread pirate friendly ideas or exposure to like minded groups such as the EFA or Cryptoparties.

Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

My politics are almost undefinable but many of my stances could be described as left libertarian. I identify as True Neutral. I will soon be volunteering for the Greens for the first time to help their presence in my city and state, where it doesn't conflict with my responsibilities as a pirate. I ran the livestream for Occupy Brisbane back in 2011 and visited daily to discuss issues and hear perspectives from a diverse variety of Brisbane residents. I am also an active unionist and Union Delegate with the Together Union.

Additional Documentation:

Find me on Twitter @theOtherHatGuy @PPAU_QLD

Emily Sievers

This candidate has withdrawn their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

See nomination details under President.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

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What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

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Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

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Additional Documentation:

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Officers

Policy Development Officer

Jesse Hermans

This candidate has won their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

I’ve been the stand-in Policy Development Officer for the last 8 months. During this time, I have helped further the work of the PDC through overseeing policy development, organising working groups etc. I have also managed to keep minutes of meetings, and run Policy Development Committee meetings in a participative style.

I am currently on Board of Fair Money Australia, and on the Executive of Prosper Australia, two small NGO think-tanks which deal in research and policy advocacy in monetary systems and taxation respectively. I also am an active member of the La Trobe University Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Society, of which many of the members I engage with are policy wonks with different areas of interest and expertise. I believe this allows me to bring a diverse range of perspectives to the table beyond my own, which assists in facilitating discussion and development in the policy making process.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

I have an interest in developing good policy which is outside the mainstream political discourse and in line with the values of the PPAU. I believe this helps present an alternative narrative and real choice for the public, which also broadens public discourse and can influence beneficial outcomes. It is also a way which I can contribute productively to the further development of the PPAU as a political party, as well as improve my own skills and challenge myself.

What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

As mentioned above I’ve been the stand-in PDO for over 8 months now, and undertaken the responsibilities which that entails. Before this I was a regular attendee in PDC meetings from the moment I joined the party. I’ve advocated for and promoted the PPAU and its policies among my circles, and I hope to be able to further movement through my continued involvement in the PDC.

Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

The PPAU platform and ideals were the reason I joined the party about a year ago. I was previously a member of the now defunct Australian Sovereignty Party, which was similar in many aspects to the PPAU but was less established, less democratic, and ineffectively operated with its internal party mechanics. I left the party after a change of leadership and direction I disagreed with, shortly after the party folded - it never made it to its first election. During the 2016 Federal Election (my first federal election) I was searching for a party to vote for, and was thoroughly impressed when I saw the PPAU. Not long afterwards I decided to join the party.

Other political movements I am an active proponent of and work with are:

• Georgism (in a non-partisan fashion via Prosper Australia)
• The Right2Work Coalition (as a founder)
• Modern Monetary Theory and Monetary Reform
• The Australian Unemployed Workers Union
• Proportional Representation (PR Society of Australia)
• Deliberative Democracy

Additional Documentation:

• None

Dispute Resolution Committee Member (1 position)

Fletcher Boyd

This candidate has won their nomination

Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

Having held several positions within the party for multiple years I have a deep working knowledge of party processes.

Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

I'd like to take a more backseat role for a year and concentrate on other areas of my life.

What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

Since joining the party mid-2013 I have assisted the party in several roles:

• Senate candidate in the 2014 WA senate re-election
• State Coordinator for Western Australia: 2014-2015
• Party Deputy Secretary: 2014-2016
• Party Secretary: 2016-current
• Press Team 2014-current
• PirateIRC administrator 2015-current

Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

I have not been a member of another political party and I agree wholeheartedly with the party ideals and platform.

Additional Documentation:

• [email protected]
• PirateIRC: Fletcher