Australian Citizens Must Be Afforded All Protections Of The Australian Government

Posted on

Pirate Party Australia once again reiterates and echoes the calls of Geoffery Robertson QC, that the Attorney-General and Prime Minister must move to ensure that Julian Assange, as an Australian citizen is afforded the full protection and support of the Australian government in his ongoing legal battle, in order to ensure that due process is observed.

Both the Attorney-General and the Prime Minister have previously made statements, later grudgingly qualified, regarding the legality of both Assange and Wikileaks, that have been extremely prejudicial to the Australian citizen and any future judicial process he, or Wikileaks volunteers may face. Investigations by Australian Federal Police have subsequently cleared Assange’s activities as completely legitimate — there has been no violation of Australian law.

The ongoing and arbitrary financial blockade of the whistleblowing organisation is nothing more than financial terrorism. Whilst Pirate Party Australia has no direct affiliation with the organisation, we have consistently supported strong whistleblower protection and transparency laws.

Ongoing calls by prominent US politicians inciting violence, proclaiming that an Australian citizen should be extrajudicially murdered or brought to trial by an administration that shamefully continues to hold an alleged whistleblower in degrading and inhumane conditions is simply another reason why the Australian Government must afford every available protection to Assange.

Pirates Salute Media’s Rejection Of AG Censorship

Posted on

Pirate Party Australia applauds media organisations and unions for their rejection of the recent attempt by the Attorney-General to impose a regime of self-censorship on the press[1]. This is a great victory for freedom of speech and information over an increasingly autocratic government, and highlights unnoticed ways in which new media is empowering old media in our democracy.

Read More

Pirates Raise More Concerns Over Attorney-General’s Conduct

Posted on

Since Pirate Party Australia highlighted[1] major flaws in the recently released discussion paper by the Attorney-General’s Department, it has come to our attention that the paper has been quietly changed to a very redacted version with no public notification. This is an unacceptably opaque attack on our civil liberties, and only further highlights the Government’s continual attempts to limit the public’s involvement in any governmental decision making.

There are significant changes to the redacted version. The title of the original paper is “Revising the Scope of the Copyright ‘Safe Harbour Scheme’ & The Process of Seeking ISP Subscriber Details in Copyright Infringement Matters” while the suddenly redacted version is entitled simply “Revising the Scope of the Copyright ‘Safe Harbour Scheme’”

Read More

Pirate Party’s Victoria Chapter Tired Of Bailleau Government’s Attacks On Free Speech

Posted on

The Victorian chapter of Pirate Party Australia has had enough of Premier Ted Baillieu’s attacks on free speech.

In June of this year, the Premier gave the police powers to issue on-the-spot fines of over $200 for indecent or offensive language.[1]

Now the Premier has announced plans to amend the Gaming Regulation Act to penalise those who are exercising their constitutional rights to criticise politicians and their policies.

Read More

Pirate Party Raises Concerns Over Stakeholder Exclusion

Posted on

According to recent reports in The Australian[1] and The Canberra Times[2], the Attorney General will today host a stakeholder meeting with the many fronts and faces of the copyright lobby and various ISPs with which they wish to saddle the responsibility for enforcing their monopoly. The Attorney General however has convened this meeting with one of the most important stakeholders absent – you.

“It is deeply concerning. To allow big media a free hand in drafting copyright legislation and dictating terms of enforcement without consulting other stakeholders will result in laws that benefit only big media at the expense of artists and consumers,” said Simon Frew, Acting Secretary.

Read More