Pirate Congress 2016 Results

The results of Pirate Party Australia’s July 2016 National Congress are in!

The Pirate Party held its National Congress in Hobart on July 23—24 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 21% from a pool of 1,316 participants.

Thank you to everyone who ran for positions and congratulations to those who were elected.
A reminder that election to the National Council is but one of many ways to contribute to the party. We are always looking for people to help on the press team, design team, in policy development, social media, writing submissions, research and so on, or just be an ongoing voice in the party.

Constitutional amendments

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

  • CAP-1: Change notification requirements for constitutional amendments — carried 97.85% in favour.
  • CAP-2: Adopt the Schulze method for congressional voting — carried 92.27% in favour.
  • CAP-3: Changes to handling vacancies on the National Council — carried 97.13% in favour.
  • CAP-4: Grammar A — carried 91.16% in favour.
  • CAP-5: Explicitly disallow state branches from registering as a federal party or division — carried 89.50% in favour.
  • CAP-7: Require full members to be registered to vote — carried 91.15% in favour.
  • CAP-8: Change the member resignation process — carried 93.90% in favour.
  • CAP-9: Change the required minuting timeframe — carried 90.76% in favour.
  • CAP-10: Change to National Congress announcement requirements — carried 99.61% in favour.
  • CAP-11: Clarify Policy Meeting schedule requirements — carried 96.09% in favour.
  • CAP-14: Dispute Resolution Committee vacancies — carried 99.06% in favour.

Note: Discussion on these amendments (including those defeated on the floor at Congress) will be found in the minutes.

Policy motions

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

  • PM-1: Policy review and update — carried 97.09% in favour.
  • PM-2: Lockout laws — carried 90.98% in favour.
  • PM-3: Federal ICAC — carried 99.24% in favour.
  • PM-4: Sex work — carried 96.92% in favour.
  • PM-5: Abuse in detention centres — carried 97.77% in favour.
  • PM-6: Recent animal welfare issues — carried 91.19% in favour.
  • PM-7: Creative Works Act — carried 98.39% in favour.
  • PM-8: Codification — carried 96.22% in favour.
  • PM-9: Abortion — carried 92.62% in favour.
  • PM-10: Versioning of legislation — carried 100.00% in favour.
  • PM-11: Gun Control — carried 93.56% in favour.
  • PM-12: Prison Reform — carried 97.01% in favour.
  • PM-13: Transgender and Intersex issues — carried 89.61% in favour.

Other motions

  • FM-1: Position Statements (adopting the process) – carried 99.09% in favour.
  • PS-1: Transgender and Intersex issues (Position Statement) – carried 88.65% in favour.
  • Financial Report: Accept the annual financial report as presented at congress – carried 98.70% in favour.

National Council elections

The National Council election results are as follows:

  • President: Simon Frew (uncontested)
  • Deputy President: Michael Keating
  • Secretary: Fletcher Boyd
  • Deputy Secretary: Tom Randle
  • Treasurer: Mark Gibbons (uncontested)
  • Deputy Treasurer: Peter Fulton (uncontested)
  • Registered Officer: David Crafti
  • Councillor (1): Emily Sievers
  • Councillor (2): Andrew Downing

Officer elections

Elections for Officer positions are as follows:

  • Dispute Resolution Committee: Mozart Olbrycht-Palmer, Hayden Dwyer (both uncontested)
  • Policy Development Officer: Martin Sheridan (uncontested)

* Note: the Dispute Resolution Committee comprises of three members, elected for two-year terms. These terms are staggered. There were two vacancies this year, both now filled. Nilay Crafti was elected last congress and retains her position.

Next Congress location

The next National Congress will be held in Melbourne in July 2017.

Raw results

The full breakdown of results can be found on the Party’s voting server, including raw JSON data.

The software used is Oyster, a free and open source voting system.