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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Lacklustre environmental provisions in secretive treaty

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The leak of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement’s environment chapter reveals enormous flaws in the draft Agreement[1]. It fails to adequately address serious environmental concerns, and is the product of lax public consultations and a lack of transparency. As a very vocal critic of the negotiating practices behind the TPP, Pirate Party Australia urges greater transparency in the Agreement so that experts and the wider public have an opportunity to contribute to a genuinely positive treaty.

An analysis of the draft environment chapter by Professor Jane Kelsey of the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Law notes that although the chapter “addresses matters of conservation, environment, biodiversity, indigenous knowledge and resources, over-fishing and illegal logging, and climate change … Instead of a 21st century standard of protection, the leaked text shows that the obligations are weak and compliance with them is unenforceable.”[2] Professor Kelsey highlights that the investment chapter in particular threatens the efficacy of the environment chapter, especially as it is likely to contain investor-state dispute settlement provisions.

“There is little doubt that over the coming weeks there will be an enormous amount of criticism levelled at this leaked chapter”, commented Melanie Thomas, Pirate Party candidate for the Seat of Griffith in the upcoming by-election. “This is healthy and necessary to make the citizens of Australia and other participating nations aware of what is being negotiated on our behalf. What is unhealthy is the contempt the negotiating parties have clearly shown for public participation. As the leak is further analysed, we will become aware of the sham that public consultations have been, and how negotiators have taken on board very little of the constructive criticism provided. The reality is that a transparent, participatory approach is the only way to ensure the TPP and future agreements meet standards that are acceptable to the public.”

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