The results of Pirate Party Australia’s July 2014 National Congress are in!

The Pirate Party held its National Congress in Brisbane on July 19–20 for the purposes of amending the Party Constitution, amending and adopting policies and deciding leadership positions, and as an opportunity for members of the Party to socialise in person. The results of the now-concluded week-long voting period can be announced. The Party had a turnout of approximately 25% from a pool of 1100 participants.

Constitutional amendments

The results of the motions amending Pirate Party Australia’s Constitution are as follows:

• CAP-0: Raising the quorum for constitutional amendments — carried 89.21% in favour.
• CAP-1: Non-profit clause — carried 98.97% in favour.
• CAP-2B: Fix National Congress dates and National Council terms — carried 98.11% in favour.
• CAP-2B(I): Correction to CAP-2B — carried 97.72% in favour.
• CAP-3: Amend Principles to include evidence-based policy, and deliberative and open government — carried 97.18% in favour.
• CAP-4: Minor Corrections — carried 98.55% in favour.
• CAP-5: Clarify and remove unnecessary examples from Article 2(1) — carried 97.01% in favour.
• CAP-6: Clarify Article 2(5) — carried 93.94% in favour.
• CAP-7: Update membership requirements and powers in Article 4.1 — carried 97.46% in favour.
• CAP-8: Clarify ambiguity of Article 6(6) — carried 98.08% in favour.
• CAP-9: Create Article for National Congress Online Voting — carried 99.64% in favour.
• CAP-10: Correct Ambiguity for Article 11(1) — carried 98.90% in favour.
• CAP-11: Move Article 3.1.1 — carried 100.00% in favour.
• CAP-12: Standardise Election of Registered Officer — carried 97.84% in favour.
• CAP-13: Requirement for National Congresses to have online participation — carried 99.30% in favour.
• CAP-14: Announcement criteria for National Congress — carried 98.94% in favour.
• CAP-15: Insert a new part: Definitions — carried 97.82% in favour.
• CAP-16: Clarify some references to majorities and quorum — carried 98.50% in favour.
• CAP-17: Make “Pre-Selection of Candidates for Election to Federal Parliament” a top level Article — carried 99.63% in favour.
• CAP-18: Clarify policy formulation — carried 99.16% in favour.
• CAP-19: Consistent references to numbers — carried 97.86% in favour.

* Note: CAP-2A and CAP-2B were competing motions. CAP-2A was defeated on the Congress floor in favour of CAP-2B. CAP-20 was postponed until the next National Congress and referred to a working group.

Formal motions

The results of formal motions relating to party business are as follows:

• FM-1: Conditional withdrawal from Pirate Parties International — carried 92.57% in favour.
• FM-2: Accept the Pirate Party Financial Statement 2013-2014 — carried 98.84% in favour.

Policy motions

The results of the motions relating to policy are as follows:

• PM-1: Constitutional reform — carried 95.54% in favour.
• PM-2: Copyright amendments — carried 99.65% in favour.
• PM-3: Education — carried 98.13% in favour.
• PM-4: Energy, Environment and Climate Change, & Animal Welfare — carried 95.45% in favour.
• PM-5: Tort of Privacy — carried 99.27% in favour.
• PM-6: Tax and Welfare — carried 94.49% in favour.

National Council elections

The National Council election results are as follows:

• President: Brendan Molloy
• Deputy President: Simon Frew
• Secretary: Daniel Judge
• Deputy Secretary: Fletcher Boyd
• Treasurer: Ben McGinnes
• Deputy Treasurer: Mark Gibbons
• Registered Officer: Michael Keating
• Councillor (1): Melanie Thomas
• Councillor (2): David Campbell

State and Territory Coordinator elections

All State and Territory Coordinator positions apart from Queensland were uncontested:

• New South Wales: Brendan Molloy
• Queensland: Brandon Selic
• South Australia: Bryn Busai
• Tasmania: Tim Serong
• Victoria: David Crafti
• Western Australia: Fletcher Boyd

Officer elections

Elections for Officer positions are as follows:

• Dispute Resolution Committee: David Crafti and Hayden Dwyer
• Policy Development Officer: Andrew Downing

* Note: the Dispute Resolution Committee comprises of three members, elected for two-year terms. These terms are staggered, and as a result two positions were up for election this Congress. The position currently held by Rodney Serkowski will be up for election at the next National Congress.

The next National Congress will be held in Sydney in July 2015.

Raw results

• Raw results for constitutional amendments, formal and policy motions, and elections.
• Raw results for the Queensland Coordinator elections.
  • Queensland members were sent a separate ballot for Queensland Coordinator.