Pirate Party Australia’s Deputy President, Melanie Thomas, will compete in the Griffith by-election for the seat of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in early February. The Australian Electoral Commission confirmed Thomas’ nomination this morning.

The Pirate Party, which competed its first Australian Federal Election in September 2013, stands for civil liberties, intellectual property reform, and increased transparency in government. The Party also has detailed policies on areas of vital importance for Australia, including education, taxation, welfare, asylum seekers, energy and marriage[1].

“Australian politics is in an appalling state at present. It has become mired in issues that shouldn’t be politicised: asylum seekers, climate change and same-sex marriage are just three major issues that have been taken by the current Government and distorted for political gain,” said Melanie Thomas. “Matters that are of major national importance are being kept secret from the public — the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is being negotiated with disturbing secrecy, and the Government hides behind “national security” to avoid answering difficult questions about the extent of surveillance in Australia. We have a Government that is proving itself to be both reckless and self-serving.

“I intend to shine a light on these issues and bring balanced values back to the political table. A vote for the Pirate Party is a vote for a compassionate, progressive and independent Australia. It is a firm statement from the electorate that they want Government to be accountable and honest and that policies steeped with rhetoric are not good enough. The Pirate Party’s policies are grounded firmly on evidence and the Party is dedicated to democracy and transparency.”

The Pirate Party achieved 0.31% of the national vote, despite competing in only four states, with over 40,000 votes in total[2], receiving 0.5% of the vote in Queensland[3]. The Party is the first and only political party in Australia to decide all its candidates and Senate preferences by a party-wide vote[4]. Globally, the Pirate Party movement has had electoral success at all levels of government, including two seats in the European Parliament, three national seats in the Icelandic Parliament, 45 state seats across Germany, and many local government positions.

“For a party with no wealthy corporate backers, running a campaign on a very tight budget, we were very pleased with the results of our first tilt at a Federal Election. We managed to outpoll many parties that have been in the game a lot longer and ensured we stuck to our principles of transparency and democratic decision-making,” commented Party President Simon Frew. “This adherence to our principles was highlighted by the transparent and democratic manner in which we determined our Senate preferences, rejecting the secrecy and unprincipled deal-making that has unfortunately come to define the Senate ballots these days.”

The vote for the Seat of Griffith will be held on Saturday, 8 February, 2014.

[1] https://pirateparty.org.au/wiki/Platform
[2] http://results.aec.gov.au/17496/Website/SenateStateFirstPrefsByGroup-17496-NAT.htm
[3] http://results.aec.gov.au/17496/Website/SenateStateFirstPrefsByGroup-17496-QLD.htm
[4] https://pirateparty.org.au/2013/08/18/preferencing-statement-for-federal-election-2013/