The Pirate Party unreservedly condemns all violent attacks on democratic institutions. In particular, organised sieges [1] such as we have seen recently in Washington and Brasilia, undermine the ability of democratic institutions to maintain the smooth transition of power essential to the continuity of democratic governance.
The Pirate Party applauds the swift action of the judiciary to prevent both a coup and the concomitant violent escalation by those taking part in the armed uprising against the elected government [2].

We note the grave danger of violent actions such as those seen in Brasilia in January spreading globally, in the wake of the January 6, 2021 events in Washington DC, USA, and that the violence in Brasilia in January was fomented by actors also involved in fomenting the Washington riots [3].

The Pirate Party recognises the deep frustration of voters whose interests are not well represented by the major parties (In Brazil, the Liberal Party and the Workers Party). But we always encourage effective political organising and peaceful protest; never violence. In particular, the Pirate Party wishes to call out, in the wake of these fatal riots which threatened an elected government, the ongoing dangers of political manipulation in the current environment of media concentration and poorly regulated transnational social media conglomerates. Fascist imagery [6]; baseless but repeated claims of multiple voting and hacked voting machines; fake electoral maps; and localised narratives from QANON sources [4] all played a part in legitimising the violence unleashed after the election, and echo the narratives last year when “anti-vaccine mandate protesters, sovereign citizens and conspiracy theorists… gathered outside the governor-general’s official residence in Canberra.” [5].

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/world/americas/brazil-election-protests-bolsonaro.html
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/01/12/brazil-riot-asset-freeze/
[3] https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2023/01/09/the-american-politics-of-brazils-insurrection-00077131
[4] https://gnet-research.org/2022/11/04/social-media-conspiracies-and-brazils-presidential-transition/
[5] https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7609920/protesters-surround-government-house/
[6] https://www.plenglish.com/news/2022/11/04/germany-condemns-use-of-nazi-salute-during-protests-in-brazil/

The vicious attacks on the Al Noor and Linwood Mosques in Christchurch yesterday are wholeheartedly condemned by Pirate Party Australia. We send our heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families, and to the Muslim communities of Australia and New Zealand. This atrocity will not go unanswered and the Pirate Party will continue to fight to remove far right extremists like Fraser Anning and Pauline Hanson from our Parliament.

The comments made by Fraser Anning shortly after the act of terror, shifting the blame to a fantasy view of an “increasing Muslim presence” and claiming that Islam is a “Violent Ideology” are utterly condemned by the Pirate Party. The racist and insidious comments of politicians like Anning and Hanson must be held to account. We must not elect such people into government in Australia’s future, as they will never represent Australians as a whole and multicultural nation.

Pirate Party Australia includes people from many different beliefs and backgrounds and it is our hope that this is what makes us stronger as a nation and to help support the people we represent. Today, our Muslim New Zealand cousins deserve that same support, love and respect.

It is our job as a nation to call out racism, hatred and bigotry wherever it festers and to bring it into the light so that it does not survive. Our politicians must lead from the front. Hatred trickles down, and yesterday we saw the consequences.

We strongly support the actions of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her immediate call to change gun laws in New Zealand.

With love and respect,

Sara Joyce
Senate Candidate (NSW)
on behalf of Pirate Party Australia

While we appreciate the initiative that the Australian Greens have made in putting a version of Universal Basic Income (UBI) forward, Pirate Party Australia long ago developed the idea into a practical and costed policy that is good for Australia.

While some criticisms of the Greens’ approach are valid, our own UBI policy has many fundamental differences. However, many criticisms of the Greens’ UBI policy are unfair and only show the ignorance of the critic, often being based on “intellectual guilt by association”, without any real engagement with the detail.

The Pirate Party UBI policy is not a universal payment to all, but rather part of an integrated taxation and welfare system, where an citizen earning $40,000 a year pays no tax nor receives any benefit. Above this income, they pay tax. Below this income, their income is topped up to a maximum of $15,000 a year, representing an effective UBI.

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Brendan Molloy, President of Pirate Party Australia

The Annual National Congress is due to be run in July. After careful consideration, I have decided not to recontest any position on the National Council this year and take a break from politics.

It takes a lot of work to develop a self-sustaining political party, and eventually we all need to take a step back to reflect on many years of hard work, while taking a break to recover from the very physical and emotional toll that day-to-day political work has on a person.

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The following is an open letter to Premier Campbell Newman sent by Queensland Coordinator Michael Keating regarding the Queensland State Government’s consideration of banning canvassing at polling booths during elections.


Dear Premier Newman,

It is with concern that I read in the Brisbane Times on the 24th of April that you and your government are considering banning polling booth canvassing at elections. Such recommendations that you are looking at implementing have the potential for causing issues with the natural democratic process in this state.

The proposed change to polling booth canvassing is a potential issue for the free democratic process we enjoy in Australia. As a member of Pirate Party Australia, we gladly support the improvement of conduct during elections – both from politicians and their supporters. However, there are several issues with attempting to restrict or ban canvassing at polling booths. Chief among them is that it will take away the opportunity for people of all political backgrounds to be able to provide information to voters about their policies, backgrounds and any other relevant information. Restricting this would be restricting the normal democratic process, for what can only be seen as being for your own benefit. This also raises the potential issue of these laws being used to restrict free speech in airing political opinions at times of elections.

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