The Pirate Party has completed it’s pre-selection process and can now announce its candidates for the 2016 Federal Election. In keeping with the Party’s democratic principles, all members were entitled to nominate themselves, and all members were entitled to vote on the preselection of candidates in their state.

The Pirate Party will be contesting for the Senate in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, as well as the House of Representatives seat of Bennelong. The party will receive its own column on the Senate ballot, as there are two candidates for each state they are contesting.

The campaign will be using the slogan “Transparency, Liberty and Digital Rights” or TLDR (Too Long; Didn’t Read in ‘Netspeak) and will be focused on providing an alternative narrative to terror, corruption and surveillance being peddled by the major Parties.

The Pirate Party’s candidates for the 2016 election are:

New South Wales

1. Sam Kearns
2. Darren McIntosh

• John August will be contesting the House of Representatives seat of Bennelong in Sydney’s Northern Suburbs.

Queensland

1. Brandon Selic
2. Isaac Pursehouse

Victoria

1. Lachlan Simpson
2. Richard Burleigh

“I am honoured to be representing the Pirate Party in the Queensland Senate election,” said Brandon Selic. “The election campaign will be fought on our strong stance on human rights and civil liberties, our defence of a free Internet and our support for a universal basic income.”

The Pirate Party operates on a shoestring budget and is using crowdfunding to pay for election materials. To donate, please go to: https://pozible.com/project/produce-pirate-party-propaganda

The Party will be relying on media content generated by members. This will take a variety of forms and methods of delivery, from memes to policy statements. Most recently NSW Senate candidate Sam Kearns has re-launched the Pirate Party Podcast and his first edition has gone live here: https://pirateparty.org.au/2016/05/13/pirate-party-australia-webcast-episode-13/

“We don’t have the business backing of a major Party, or the pulling power of a high-profile candidate, so we are relying on the combined efforts of our members and supporters. Being a Party of digital natives, we can share and spread our message online, immediately with the best content organically reaching the biggest audiences. This is our biggest edge over other Parties who are stuck in the past and rely on traditional forms of communication.” Mr Selic continued.

Isaac Pursehouse, the second Senate candidate for Queensland added, “With the lack of support from the major parties for what I feel is important to modern day Australia, I am privileged to promote and uphold the full inclusion of all Individuals in our society regardless of how they or society identify themselves. I want to provide society with the Civil & Digital liberties they deserve and what the Pirate Party stands for, I will be defending in the Senate”

Pirate Party Australia’s full policy platform can be found at http://platform.pirateparty.org.au

More information about each candidate can be found at https://pirateparty.org.au/candidates/

As with previous elections, the party will run a party-wide democratic ballot among its members to decide what preference order we list other parties on our How to Vote materials.

Press Kit: https://pirateparty.org.au/wiki/Press_Kit