Pirate Party offers modern, transparent taxation plan

Posted on

Pirate Party Australia is pleased to announce the release of its tax policy.

Principles of transparency and accountability apply not just to government spending, but also government revenue, and the Pirate Party has long been frustrated that the present tax system is such a hindrance to this transparency. The current mass of complex and hidden taxes costs our nation vast amounts of time every day and effectively prevents all of us from knowing how much tax we really pay. Absurdly, over two thirds of taxpayers in Australia now have to file tax returns through a tax agent due to the complexity of our laws[1].

The Henry Review provides a powerful blueprint for improving transparency and sweeping hidden, inefficient taxes out of our system, and the Pirate Party has incorporated many of the key recommendations into its plan.

“Under our system the burden of tax will shift from savings, work, and innovation, and towards consumption. Over 90% of Australians will pay less than 30% in income tax under the Pirate Party’s plan. By raising the tax-free threshold to float at a level equivalent to the poverty line, we will remove much of the current tax-welfare churn and free low-income earners permanently from the burdens of income tax, and from the stress and costs of filing a tax return,” said Qld Senate candidate Melanie Thomas. “Under these reforms, income support and supplementary payments such as family assistance would be tax-exempt, allowing struggling families an opportunity to really get ahead”.

Read More

Pirate Party slams Attorney-General for whistleblower comments

Posted on

Pirate Party Australia is stunned by the Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who in a speech to the Security Government conference in Canberra claimed that Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning did not release information related to government ‘wrongdoing.’ The Attorney-General stated that neither are whistleblowers for this reason[1].

“The Attorney-General appears to have forgotten that the ‘Collateral Murder’ video released by Manning clearly shows US pilots firing on civilians in Iraq[2],” said Brendan Molloy, lead Senate candidate in NSW. “What exactly does Mr Dreyfus mean when he says ‘government wrongdoing’? The US President is, as head of government, commander-in-chief of the United States military — is killing civilians not an act of government wrongdoing?”

“Surely covering up mistakes is not the mark of a transparent and competent government that shows respect for the electorate? The secret surveillance programs undertaken by the US National Security Agency do not foster trust between the state and the citizen, and undermines the very fabric of modern democracy.”

The Party believes that while a certain amount of surveillance is necessary, it should have judicial oversight in the form of a warrant, and should only be targeted at those in the warrant. There is nothing wrong with limited telecommunications interception powers being exercised in this manner, but the Australian Government’s approach has been dubious at best.

Read More

Government Shifting Power Away From People

Posted on

This is an opinion piece authored by Simon Frew, President of Pirate Party Australia. It has been sent to ABC’s The Drum for publication.

The balance of power between citizens and the state is shifting on a number of fronts. On one hand, government agencies are becoming increasingly secretive, exemplified by recent recommendations to the Attorney-General’s Department to reduce access to government documents through Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation. On the other hand, there is increasing surveillance of citizens and a continual, rapid growth in the reach of security agencies.

Read More

Liberal Party ‘copyfraud’ a salient reminder of copyright as censorship

Posted on

As the major parties descend into an ever increasingly infantile debate, Fairfax reporter Judith Ireland reports that copyright law is being engaged as a tool to suppress parody videos on YouTube in the Australian election campaign[1]. While this may appear trivial, it illustrates a larger, more serious issue.

“It’s an alarming development, however not surprising, that copyright is now being used as a tool for censorship in Australian politics. This is a perfect example of how copyright can be utilised to undermine free speech. While the subject here may be a relatively childish parody, if such abuse of copyright law were to become normalised it could impede legitimate political discourse and speech during a time-sensitive election campaign,” said Simon Frew, President of Pirate Party Australia.

Unfortunately it is very easy to use copyright as a censorship tool as the onus of proof is on the person being targeted with a takedown notice. In issues where time is of the essence, a takedown notice can be used to silence an opponent and by the time they have appealed and had their material reinstated, the opportunity to get a message heard can be missed. According to Google over one third of takedown notices are not valid copyright claims[2] and examples of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) being used for censorship are broad and many, be it doctors using it to silence negative reviews[3], businesses silencing competitors[4], through to it being used to remove video footage of war crimes[5].

“There are many issues with copyright and this is a clear illustration of one of them. The Pirate Party provides the most comprehensive intellectual property rights reform platform[6] of all parties in this election, and with the copyright monopoly threatening to step up the campaign after the election[7], those that value free culture, information and knowledge and reasonable intellectual property rights should consider a vote for the Pirate Party as insurance against draconian reforms proposed by industry bodies,” concluded Mr. Frew.

Read More

Pirate Party announces Senate candidates

Posted on

Following the announcement of Australia’s 2013 Federal Election, to take place on the 7th of September, Pirate Party Australia is pleased to announce its final candidate line up for the Senate. The Party will be fielding Senate candidates in all four eastern states.

In NSW the ballot will comprise of Brendan Molloy and David Campbell; in Queensland, Melanie Thomas and Liam Pomfret; in Victoria, Joe Miles and Geoff Hammett; and in Tasmania, Thomas Randle and Thomas Storey.

The Pirate Party’s platform centres around civil liberties[1] (including privacy, freedom of speech and opposition to censorship), copyright and patent reform[2][3], and greater government transparency[4]. Other issues the Party has addressed include education, tax, welfare, energy, the environment, asylum seekers, marriage and drugs[5].

Pirate Party Australia will be pioneering a new method of preferencing in this election. Practising what it preaches, the Pirate Party will be transparently preferencing other parties — all members will be asked to rank other parties to determine how preferences will flow. Parties have been invited to respond with a letter to Pirate Party Australia’s members outlining why they are deserving of preferences.

Read More