Category: Press Release

Press releases

Pirate Party sets sights on former PM’s seat

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Pirate Party Australia’s Deputy President, Melanie Thomas, will compete in the Griffith by-election for the seat of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in early February. The Australian Electoral Commission confirmed Thomas’ nomination this morning.

The Pirate Party, which competed its first Australian Federal Election in September 2013, stands for civil liberties, intellectual property reform, and increased transparency in government. The Party also has detailed policies on areas of vital importance for Australia, including education, taxation, welfare, asylum seekers, energy and marriage[1].

“Australian politics is in an appalling state at present. It has become mired in issues that shouldn’t be politicised: asylum seekers, climate change and same-sex marriage are just three major issues that have been taken by the current Government and distorted for political gain,” said Melanie Thomas. “Matters that are of major national importance are being kept secret from the public — the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is being negotiated with disturbing secrecy, and the Government hides behind “national security” to avoid answering difficult questions about the extent of surveillance in Australia. We have a Government that is proving itself to be both reckless and self-serving.

“I intend to shine a light on these issues and bring balanced values back to the political table. A vote for the Pirate Party is a vote for a compassionate, progressive and independent Australia. It is a firm statement from the electorate that they want Government to be accountable and honest and that policies steeped with rhetoric are not good enough. The Pirate Party’s policies are grounded firmly on evidence and the Party is dedicated to democracy and transparency.”

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Asylum seekers do not deserve concentration camp conditions

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Refugees on Manus Island are being held in conditions Amnesty International has described as “cruel, inhuman, degrading and violating prohibitions against torture.”[1] The report details the experience of approximately 1,100 male asylum seekers in the Manus Island detention centre. Pirate Party Australia is critical of the current approach and calls for a regional solution to the issue of refugees that upholds human rights and treats asylum seekers with dignity.

Among some of the issues raised by Amnesty International are the lack of adequate drinking water, absence of basic hygiene, nonexistent shade and shelter, and insufficient toilet and shower facilities. As a nation that has prided itself on adherence to human rights, common decency, quality medical treatment and the concept of a fair go, Australia’s treatment of refugees is shameful and represents a new low in modern Australian history.

“If our government is going to insist on maintaining a regime of offshore detention for asylum seekers, then they must treat the detainees in a manner that is better than vindictive torture. If we continue a course of action that detains refugees in tropical climates, the very least we can do is ensure that the conditions we subject them to are not going to make them sick, disabled, mentally ill or at risk of death because we cannot even give them the basic necessities to cope with such a climate. We as a nation are surely better than that,” said Brendan Molloy, Councillor of Pirate Party Australia.

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Papers please: Senate Order forces much needed transparency in TPP

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Pirate Party Australia congratulates the Greens’ successful motion in the Senate to compel the Government to make the final text of the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) public prior to it being signed[1].

“Having this far-reaching agreement finally made available for public scrutiny will be an enormous win for transparency and democracy in Australia,” commented Brendan Molloy, Councillor of Pirate Party Australia. “Leaks of draft text from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement indicate substantial implications for intellectual property and investment, but it has so far been impossible to determine the extent of the Agreement and whether or not it will require changes to domestic law.”

The Party remains, however, critical of the contemporary practice of excluding the public from the treaty negotiation process, as has been seen during the negotiations of the TPP, Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement, and the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The Department of Foreign Affairs and its counterparts in negotiating countries have actively prevented proper discourse with the public, failed to negotiate transparently, attempted to stifle media scrutiny[2] and provided inadequate public consultation both here and abroad.

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ASIO’s spiral into rogue agency continues unabated

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In a shocking move, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) raided offices of the law firm of Bernard Collaery, an Australian lawyer acting on behalf of the Government of East Timor[1]. Mr Collaery is in the Hague to put forward a case against the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) for spying on the Timorese Cabinet in relation to negotiations to decide the maritime border between Australia and East Timor in 2004. It is also believed that an unnamed whistleblower was arrested in conjunction with the raids.

Pirate Party Australia condemns the intimidatory tactics employed by ASIO in their bid to shut down an investigation into alleged illegal spying by another Australian intelligence agency.

“The spate of revelations into the abuses of power by various Australian intelligence agencies demonstrates that they are out of control,” commented Simon Frew, President of Pirate Party Australia. “They have shown a reckless disregard for the rule of law and have caused Australia serious damage in our relationships with more than one of our closest neighbours. It is clear that there needs to be a thorough inquiry into all of the Australian intelligence agencies, and strict limitations need to be imposed and enforced.”

It has been reported that ASIO refused to show a detailed warrant due to claims of ‘national security.’

“The phrase ‘national security’ is being used to keep Australians in the dark regarding the plethora of questionable and seemingly illegal activities that are being done by our agencies. The revelations that Australian citizens are being placed under warrantless blanket surveillance has been met by the Government and Opposition with the response of ‘it is long-standing practice for Australian Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.’ This is not good enough.

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Few limits to what Australian intelligence would share

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The contempt that Australian intelligence organisations have for Australian citizens has been exposed, following revelations that the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) boasted in 2008 that it can share “bulk, unselected, un-minimised metadata” with several of its international counterparts[1]. Notes from a meeting at the UK’s GCHQ Headquarters in Cheltenham were leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, and show that Australia was keen to share data, regardless of privacy concerns and whether it was intentionally collected. The DSD has since been renamed to the Australian Signals Directorate.

“The threat that indiscriminate collection of metadata poses should never be underestimated,” commented Simon Frew, President of Pirate Party Australia. “Metadata amounts to digital footprints, capable of tracking your movements and interactions. It can be used to build comprehensive profiles of personal networks and habits. This sort of surveillance makes every Australian a potential suspect.”

In addition, the parties to the meeting — representatives from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and United States — discussed how electronic spying has made it possible to collect “medical, legal and religious, or restricted business information, which may be regarded as an intrusion of privacy.” This is in violation of international and common law.

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