In less than a year, Pirate Party Australia will be contesting its second Federal election. With data retention having passed, a fifth wave of security laws in the works, further censorship proposals for the internet, and more copyright restriction in the wake of the TPP, there’s a lot to push back against. Our political system is rotten, monopolistic, and in desperate need of renewal.

But elections are expensive — it costs $24 000 in nomination fees just to contest each state. Our estimate assumes that the major parties will not jack up the price as they did right before the last election!

Our current bank balance is approximately $8,000 which is only enough to cover candidate fees in two states.

Basic election materials such as how to vote flyers and corflute signs cost thousands of dollars more. At the last election we contested in four states (not counting the WA re-run).

Below is the list of our main expenses from the last Federal Election campaign:

Candidate nomination fees: $16,000
Corflute sign printing: $2,546.50
Advertising in MX Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne: $6,593.40
How to Vote flyer printing: $2020 (4 designs. 20,000 for each of 3 states and 6,000 for 1 state)

With so much at stake, we have to prepare in advance so that we can run the best campaign possible. Given the risk of an early election, we need to start building a warchest now with a target of $40,000 to ensure we can cover nomination fees and produce essential campaign materials.

While every donation makes a difference, we urge those who can afford it to set up regular transfers. A regular stream of funds could facilitate us also reaching our goal of hiring a paid staff member to lighten the bureaucratic burden on the (entirely volunteer) National Council members, freeing us up to campaign harder on issues which define our Party. This is a goal which we will pursue with vigour once we have enough money in the bank to contest the next election.

For more information on how to help, go to our “Election Warchest Campaign” page at: https://pirateparty.org.au/warchest/

Thank you again for all your support.

Kind Regards,

—

Simon Frew
President
Pirate Party Australia