Category: Press Release

Press releases

Another go for fair use in Australia

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A report recommending the introduction of fair use in Australia was yesterday tabled in Parliament by the Attorney-General, Senator George Brandis[1]. “Copyright and the Digital Economy,” an inquiry by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), was tasked with examining whether the current copyright regime is adequately meeting the needs of the increasingly Internet-reliant Australian population. This is the second law reform report in just over a decade to recommend the introduction of fair use, and is more than 400 pages long.

Pirate Party Australia, a strong supporter of the introduction of fair use, was among the hundreds of individuals and organisations that made a submission to the ALRC[2], and was cited more than 10 times in the report. The fair use proposals would provide a generic, flexible exception that allows the unlicenced use of copyrighted material in certain circumstances where a court determines the use of a work (entirely or in part) is reasonable. Several countries have fair use or similar provisions, notably the United States and Israel, and fair use has been credited with providing a fertile environment for the growth of the modern Internet, being necessary for major search engines to function. Australia lacks the competitive edge of the United States in this area, putting the Australian digital economy at an enormous disadvantage.

“Over the past twenty or so years we have adopted many of the negative aspects of the United States’ copyright system, but with few of the safeguards the American laws have,” commented Mozart Olbrycht-Palmer, Deputy Secretary of Pirate Party Australia. “While we increased our copyright term to life plus seventy years via the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement in the early 2000s, we did not import fair use as a flexible exception for using copyrighted material without a licence. If the recommendations of the ALRC report are adopted, Australia will finally be taking positive steps towards copyright reform. These reforms are long overdue and go a long way to ensuring that Australia has copyright laws that genuinely reflect the needs of our society.”

Senator Scott Ludlam’s “Fair Go for Fair Use” Bill pre-empted the results of the ALRC inquiry, and is expected to be reintroduced to Parliament soon. Pirate Party Australia has been highly supportive of this Bill, and hopes that the ALRC report spurs Parliament into passing the much-needed legislation. The ALRC’s report notes the advantages of fair use, such as its flexibility and ability to promote the public interest and assist innovation, and that it aligns with reasonable consumer expectations while protecting rights holders’ markets and moral rights.

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The Day We Fight Back

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Pirate Party Australia is joining other activist organisations and political parties around the world today to protest the mass surveillance regime that has been exposed through leaks from whistleblower and US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

Websites around the world will blacken or display a banner on Tuesday 11th (and Wednesday 12th, Australian time) February as part of a global day of action against mass surveillance.

We in Australia are joining in this global effort to pressure our lawmakers to end mass surveillance — of Australians and of the citizens of other countries.

Together, and in the name of Aaron Swartz, we are pushing back against powers that seek to observe, collect, and analyse our every digital action.

Dragnet surveillance is not compatible with democratic governance and new rules must be set to protect privacy in the digital age.

As well as a comprehensive review of current mass surveillance activities, we are calling for:

  1. An end to warrantless access to telecommunications data
  2. A new agreement governing information-sharing between the ‘Five Eyes’ powers (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) that provides meaningful protections for individuals’ privacy
  3. Extending the Freedom of Information Act and the reporting requirements of the Telecommunications Interception and Access Act to cover intelligence and security agencies
  4. A requirement for service providers to inform customers of any arrangements that are in place to provide personal information to governments.

“The global surveillance system exposed by Edward Snowden isn’t just about the NSA, the Australian Signals Directorate has been implicated too[1]. Both major parties have been tight lipped because they support the destruction of our privacy” said Simon Frew, President of Pirate Party Australia. “We need safeguards to protect our civil liberties. Just because the technology is there to cheaply spy on every person who uses a computer or mobile phone, it does not mean that it should happen. Democracy requires privacy and the surveillance regime the government has signed up to under the Five Eyes program is a direct assault on the civil liberties of everyone.”

“It is important that we all continue to oppose the surveillance state and fight to win back our privacy. Pirate Party Australia believes that the government needs to be transparent about what is done in our name as secrecy breeds corruption, and the Liberal government has made secrecy its standard mode of operation. Citizens need privacy to be able to speak freely, criticise injustice and hold the government to account. The surveillance regime exposed by Edward Snowden shows a fundamental shift in the relationship between people and the state. The balance needs to be turned back the other way. Today we fight back,” Mr Frew concluded.

Join us on 11th (and 12th) February to show your opposition to mass surveillance by darkening your website and adding a banner. Instructions and more information are available at http://thedaywefightback.org.au.

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/02/revealed-australian-spy-agency-offered-to-share-data-about-ordinary-citizens

Pirate Party attains fourth position in Griffith by-election

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Current results for the Griffith by-election indicate that the Pirate Party’s candidate, Melanie Thomas, has secured a very credible fourth place, behind the Liberal Nationals, Labor, and Greens, finishing ahead of all other minor and micro parties[1]. This was Pirate Party Australia’s first attempt at contesting a House of Representatives seat.

“It is encouraging that despite the Labor and Liberal Parties dominating the political arena, an increasing number of voters are willing to break out of the major party duopoly and put their support behind an alternative voice like the Pirate Party,” Ms Thomas commented. “Those voters are sending a powerful message that Australians need someone to stand up for civil and digital liberties, and to protect our country from a range of threats such as warrantless dragnet surveillance, mistreatment of refugees, climate change, governmental secrecy, corruption and cronyism.”

“As more and more Australians see that the Pirate Party is a party backed by a serious platform of evidenced-based policies, we firmly believe that positive inroads can and will be made to stop major parties taking the voting public for granted. We are a party that practices what it preaches and we have shown what a party based on transparency, democracy, and participation can achieve.”

As per the preliminary count as at Sunday evening, Pirate Party Australia has achieved the greatest swing toward any party in the by-election. The current swing of +1.54% to the Pirate Party in Griffith is three times greater than the Party’s result in Queensland for the Senate at the last federal election in September 2013[2]. It also represents a doubling of first preference votes when compared to the Party’s polling in Griffith for that same Senate election, where the Party received 0.7% of the vote[3].

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Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority dumps on scientific evidence

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Pirate Party Australia is critical of the Abbott Government’s “anti-knowledge” approach, after the Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority approved a proposal to dump three million cubic metres of dredge spoil into the waters surrounding the Great Barrier Reef despite expert advice against it[1].

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority has stated that it will “use the best available science, knowledge and information to support environmental policy, regulation and conservation outcomes”[2]. Scientists and conservation lobbyists advised the Authority against granting approval in a letter to the Chairman of the Authority dated 29 January 2014. In this letter, it was declared that “The best available science … makes it very clear that expansion of the port at Abbot Point will have detrimental effects on the Great Barrier Reef”[3].

“Not only is this an environmental issue, it also highlights the current Government’s contempt for evidence and research,” said Melanie Thomas, Pirate Party candidate for the Seat of Griffith. “What is the point of consulting with environmental experts if you ignore their advice? This Government is doing all it can to avoid making decisions informed by scientific evidence and instead clinging recklessly to ideologies based on feelings and opinions instead of substance.”

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Unstoppable boats — Pirate Party is Abbott’s worst nightmare

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Melanie Thomas, a media professional from Brisbane, is Pirate Party Australia’s first House of Representatives candidate, following the successful registration of the Party last January and its first federal election in September 2013.

Pirate Party Australia continues to lead the way for transparency in Australian politics by using its democratically decided Senate preferences from the previous election as a basis for its how-to-vote cards for the Griffith by-election. The final list was determined by the Party’s Election Committee that consists of all interested members of the Party, resulting in only minor divergence from the original Senate preferences.

“We used the same list as we did for the Senate last year, with slight adjustments to accommodate for Independents and changes in the political climate. The original list was decided by a party-wide vote,” said Ms Thomas. “We use online meetings for the majority of our organising, meaning that all members right across Australia have the opportunity to get involved in the day-to-day running of the Party.”

“This is what the Pirate Party offers for Australia and especially the people of Griffith — a commitment to government transparency and participatory democracy. The community must be involved in the decision-making process and informed of what their representatives are actually doing. Too much is occurring behind closed doors and under veils such as ‘national security’ or ‘in our best interests’.”

Although transparency and participation are key parts of the Pirate Party’s platform and principles, the Party has policies on many other issues.

“We have a wide-ranging set of policies that cover issues of vital importance to Australia, including energy, the environment, taxation, welfare, and asylum seekers and refugees,” Ms Thomas continued. “We’re providing a viable alternative to everyone who is sick and tired of the behaviour of the larger parties. All our policies are built firmly on a basis of evidence.”

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