Pirate Party Australia – Page 53 of 76 – Pirate Party Australia is a political party based around the core tenets of freedom of information and culture; civil and digital liberties; privacy and anonymity; government transparency; and participatory democracy.

Shining Light on National Security Inquiry Exposes Ugly Truth

Posted on October 17, 2012

Due to public outcry over the vague and sinister proposals of the National Security Discussion Paper and Inquiry, more details about the proposal have come to light.

After refusing Pirate Party Australia’s freedom of information request to release draft legislation, the AGD has chosen to make their own submission to the Inquiry[1], and in a very revealing exchange at Senate Estimates, Senator Scott Ludlam received answers about long-standing questions regarding the definition of metadata[2]. Transparency, strongly advocated by Pirate Party Australia, often yields a far more democratic outcome. This submission from the AGD highlights concerns many Australians have regarding the National Security Inquiry.

“It is a refreshing move for the AGD and the AFP to be this transparent about their National Security wishlist. This submission provides a far more democratic outcome, and offers some insight into what security agencies and the Attorney General’s Department hope to achieve through this inquiry,” commented David W. Campbell, President of Pirate Party Australia.

“While the submission is valuable for transparency, the contents are outrageous. Many of the more totalitarian interpretations of the vague discussion paper seem to be exactly what is on the table. The AFP appears to believe it is okay to access information about all Australians’ movements without any form of judicial oversight. If people understood that the Federal Police, among other agencies, could access information about their every movement they would be appalled. This is only one proposal in a wide-ranging inquiry that will dramatically expand police powers at the expense of our civil liberties and democratic rights,” Mr Campbell continued.

Pirate Party applauds Turnbull

Posted on October 10, 2012

Pirate Party Australia applauds the recent remarks of Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull in relation to the interception and storage of digital communications.

Mr Turnbull expressed “very grave misgivings” about the proposal for data retention contained within the ongoing National Security Inquiry’s discussion paper. Mr Turnbull also indicated that he believes the right to private communications — including the ability to destroy correspondence and personal records — should be maintained, regardless of medium[1].

Pirate Party Australia is pleased to see a Member of Parliament actually voice concern over the proposals considering the immense public backlash against them.

Pirate Party Stonewalled on Data Retention

Posted on October 10, 2012

The Attorney General’s Department has rejected a Freedom of Information request made by Pirate Party Australia treasurer Rodney Serkowski regarding draft national security legislation that was prepared in 2010 by that department[1].

“This is a disgraceful and troubling response from the Attorney-General’s Department,” Mr Serkowski commented. “They have completed draft legislation, prior to any transparent or consultative process, and are now denying access to that legislation, for reasons that are highly dubious and obviously politically motivated. The Department is completely trashing any semblance or notion of transparency or participative democratic process of policy development.”

“Where the legislative proposals almost certainly mean the complete erosion of fundamental freedoms like privacy, it is in the public interest that we are able to access the text of such proposals so as to properly inform public debate. We want transparent government and private citizens, not the opposite.”

Pirate Party Australia will appeal the decision of the Department to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) seeking to have the draft legislation and prepatory texts released.

Pirate Party Disappointed Canada and Mexico Joining TPP Negotiations

Posted on October 8, 2012

Pirate Party Australia is disappointed that Canada and Mexico will formally join negotiations for the flawed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) this week.

The Pirate Party has been very critical of the Agreement, particularly as there has been minimal engagement with the public – both in Australia and in the other negotiating nations – and only two draft chapters have been leaked.

“From these leaks, it is evident that at least some TPP negotiators are pushing for provisions that go beyond the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that was rejected by the European Union earlier this year, and which is yet to be ratified in Australia,” said David W. Campbell, President of Pirate Party Australia. “While the Pirate Party movement internationally has been one of the key opponents to ACTA due to its overreaching copyright and patent enforcement provisions, what is worrying about the TPP is that it is being conducted in near absolute secrecy making it difficult for concerned groups to offer criticism. When drafting international agreements, the citizens of those nations involved have a right to consultation, which must include access to draft texts.”

Indefinite Data Retention Suggestion Appalling, says Pirate Party

Posted on September 27, 2012

Pirate Party Australia expresses grave concerns at the stance taken by the four Police Commissioners at the National Security Commission Hearings in Sydney on Wednesday, who made clear their desires for vastly overreaching data retention schemes.

While professing to have only “true and pure” motives, the four commissioners reluctantly accepted the proposed two-year retention period while stating they would prefer five-year, seven-year or even unlimited retention periods[1].

“It appears that the police commissioners are trying to portray their two-year retention proposal as a reluctant compromise, yet any blanket warrantless arbitrary retention of the communication data of the entire population is a totally unnacceptable risk to civil liberties and fundamental privacy rights,” said Mozart Olbrycht-Palmer, Deputy Secretary of Pirate Party Australia. “While arguing about ‘how out of date interception laws are,’ they seemed oblivious to the fact that an intrusive scheme of warrantless retention of data was already passed under the Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill. These amendments provide targeted retention on request, rather than automatic blanket retention of everyone’s data.”

“We object to any widescale surveillance systems, and oppose mandatory data retention for all Internet connections, regardless of the retention period. Judicial oversight and explicit, limited warrants are necessary safeguards that the National Security Inquiry discussion paper proposes to eliminate. It appears that the police commissioners are essentially saying ‘trust us’ while attempting to do away with judicial oversight of their actions, railing agianst the ‘burdensome’ nature of warrants – an element key to protecting society from abuse of powers.”

The Pirate Party is alarmed by the cavalier attitude displayed by the police agencies as to the “burdensome” aspect of warrants and the lack of regard to ways such powers could be abused and compromise privacy.