(This announcement was also sent by email to the Party Announcements mailing list.)
Greetings!
Pirate Party Australia will be holding its annual National Congress on Saturday 19 July to Sunday 20 July at the Irish Club in Brisbane. Members will be able to attend in person or online, and the conference will be followed by a seven day online voting period.
RSVP today! http://piratecon2014.eventbrite.com.au
The National Congress is an opportunity for members to propose and debate new policies and constitutional amendments, hear nominations for Party Officials, and meet Pirates from around Australia. We are also hoping to have guest speakers, who will be announced closer to the date.
Ticket prices are $25 for members, and $15 for students who are members. Non-members can enter for $35. Online participation is free, but we request a donation to cover the costs of streaming the broadcast. RSVPing is also mandatory for online participants so we can determine the amount of people likely to attend and therefore our bandwidth requirements.
Please be advised that members have until 28 days before the Congress to submit constitutional amendment proposals, which in accordance with our by-laws is Friday 20 June 2014 at 11:59 pm (AEST). Proposals submitted after that date will be held over until the following National Congress. Please email your proposals to [email protected]
It would be appreciated if policy proposals could be submitted as early as possible so that they can be allowed for in the agenda. If you intend to propose a policy for adoption at Congress it is recommended that you consult with the Policy Development Committee by emailing [email protected] so that suggestions for improvements can be made. Well written policies are more likely to succeed. Please email your completed proposals to [email protected]
Nominations for positions within the Party will be opened shortly, and nominations will be accepted up until the relevant agenda item at Congress. Positions up for election are all nine Councillors, all State and Territory Coordinators, the Policy Development Officer, and two positions on the Dispute Resolution Committee.
Due to issues with venue dates, an emergency constitutional amendment (using the powers of Article 8.4 and By-law 2014-01) was implemented by the National Council to Article 6.1(2), changing the requirements from hosting a National Congress from every 12 months to every 13 months. In practice, this has allowed us to host the National Congress 12 months and a week after the last Congress due to venue constraints. This motion will be voted on at the National Congress as per the requirements of the Constitution, and if voted down, will not be reinstituted by the National Council.
The exact wording of the motion is as follows: “To enact a temporary operational amendment to the Party Constitution to extend the time between National Congresses to 13 months, and to host the National Congress at the Irish Club in Brisbane on July 19/20, 2014 with a budget of $750.”
Details of this motion will be published in the next National Council minutes, which will be available at https://pirateparty.org.au/wiki/Minutes
Up to date information about this Congress will be found at: https://pirateparty.org.au/wiki/Pirate_Congress_2014
This date is locked in, so feel free to book flights and hotels. We look forward to seeing you in Brisbane!