Minutes/National Council/2017-09-06
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Meeting Minutes
This document is a record of a meeting. Do not edit this document without contacting the relevant group first.
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Start: 20:35 AEST
End: 23:24 AEST
Attendance
- Emily Sievers
- Tom Randle
- Simon Gnieslaw
- Simon Frew
- Alex Jago (while juggling other commitments until 9:30)
- Mark Gibbons
- Miles Whiticker
- Daniel Judge (Quartermaster)
- Fletcher Boyd (IEWG/IT Team)
Absentees
- John August
Minutes
Previous meeting minutes
AEC Audit (Tom)
AEC Audit (Tom)
- Rollout progress/results? (Tom)
- Audit plan is in progress
- The basic outline is:
- Get everyone into members area
- Send another email to properly request all members update their details for the purpose of the AEC audit, capturing those that really want us to send their details over (e.g. they know they may get called)
- Sort the member data by a form of quality rating for the final export
- Submit the audit by Monday 25th
Request an extension? (Tom)
- Tom thinks we should request an extension
- Tom could write a letter with Alex to the AEC.
- Consensus to do this and then motion to request this passes
- Tom could write a letter with Alex to the AEC.
New Features coming for export and auditing process (Tom)
- still have some features to build into the members system to handle the export and auditing process.
- probably take another week or so
- written most of the code in various forms for other parts of functionality, so it should be mostly copy/pasting.
Update on the members area PirateDB rollout:
- ~25% of current members have activated / renewed their memberships so far.
- ~100 more account remain to be invited.
- raised ~$3,000 in renewals / donations since rollout started.
- Unactivated accounts email reminder to go out in the next two days.
- Build audit export features.
Huge congratulations for Tom on his work on PirateDB and bringing in the donations
- Simon Frew thinks it could have bought in more than double or triple the previous cash reserves
- About 100 members away in the new system (from the requisite 500 needed for Audit)
- Hoping that the reminder email will get a lot more people into the new system
- Still, many people are still renewing even without a reminder email
Member Email outs
- Alex is concerned amount of emails going into spam
- Simon Gnieslaw says we are not on any spam blacklists
- Simon Gnieslaw and Alex thinks that reminder / important account emails in general should go to everyone, even if they unsubscribed to the mailing list, because they are important enough
- Tom defers this topic to the end
Tom has received confirmation from the AEC of our change overs for:
- Secretary (Tom)
- Registered Officer (Alex)
- Party Agent (Alex)
AEC officers change over (Tom)
- Remove dep registered officers motion
Deputy ROs
- Tom thinks that we should remove the current Deputy Registered Officers, because "they're out of date and we only appoint them for federal elections, their job is to formally submit candidate nomination paperwork in each state with the AEC when federal elections are happening and they can be appointed quickly when we get the feeling an election is coming"
- Currently filled by former NC members
Appoint new ones?
- Alex thinks that we should leave it empty for now
- Daniel Judge notes that there could be unexpected elections so maybe we should leave some Deputy ROs on just in case to save time. Lots of paperwork needed from ROs in each state.
- Fletcher notes that it's a quick process to appoint a Deputy RO from a capital city in person
- Simon G is concerned that the AEC might be too busy to process it
- Tom and Fletcher are confident that the AEC expect it and are not too busy
- Simon G echos Tom that we just deal with it at the time when an election is called, no matter how soon/far.
- Tom and Fletcher are confident that the AEC expect it and are not too busy
- Simon G is concerned that the AEC might be too busy to process it
- Fletcher notes that it's a quick process to appoint a Deputy RO from a capital city in person
- Motion is made and passes (Alex Jago missed the vote due to being busy with something else at the same time, but later confirmed support for the motion)
Sydney Meetup (Simon G)
Simon G suggests removing the event from the website Calendar unless someone will serve as a contact point for it, we can't have a repeat of new person showing up with no one there.
- On the forums someone turned up and nobody was there
- I understand this is a rather informal thing with no leader, but Frew and some others usually attend
- Can we please make it more formal, or take it off the calendar
- Frew/Miles: Ideally we need a co-ordinator covering Central Sydney
- Duties: Manage RSVPs and cancel it if no one confirms - Simon G
- Frew: Should be an active person, but all regular attendees are at least 20km from Sydney CBD
- Frew can't commit to coordinating it himself
- Frew says that there are usually at least half a dozen people
- MarkG: "I think it was the stars going into perfect misalignment. Everyone happening to be busy at the same time."
- Frew/Miles: Ideally we need a co-ordinator covering Central Sydney
- Simon G suggests taking it off the calendar until we find someone, even if the event still actually happens
- Tom says that we should find someone who can commit to being there
- ACTION ITEM: "Lets action item this for the NSW people to find someone in the next week to say they'll be at their next meetup"
- MarkG to make topic on Discuss about this to find volunteer
- ACTION ITEM: "Lets action item this for the NSW people to find someone in the next week to say they'll be at their next meetup"
State Branch Formation/New Structure (Frew)
- https://discuss.pirateparty.org.au/t/state-branch-formation/644/14?u=simon
- State politics coordinator-
- Responsible for
- keeping abreast of state politics,
- using social media to share related content and
- organising Pirate participation in politics.
- Talking about state level politics will hopefully generate interest in state level politics which will help draw in more activists.
- Responsible for
- Bureaucrat-
- Responsible for
- collecting details etc. in order to get to the position where we could register a state party.
- Getting registered is a serious pain in the arse, we need someone to take on this onerous responsibility.
- I pledge to buy anyone who successfully deals with their state electoral commission to get a branch of the Pirate Party registered a beer, everyone else should make the same pledge for it is an onerous task.
- Responsible for
- Organiser-
- Responsible for
- organising meetings and events and communicating with the NC and the rest of the party.
- Also responsible for sharing Pirate events on social media.
- Responsible for
- State politics coordinator-
- Frew will continue working on this, just a FYI at this stage
- Frew is going to rework the old Branch Formation Working Group and email to NC and then go for approval
- ACTION ITEM: Frew to work on branch ToR template and proposal to clean up old state formation working gropus
- Alex: QLD State Branch Formation Steering Committee 1st meeting on Tuesday Fortnight
Strategy Meeting (Simon G)
- We could have Separate Strategy meetings as it's too time consuming during NC meetings (Simon G)
- Strategy is important (Frew)
- Strategy should be workshopped outside of NC meetings, NC meetings for decisions (Tom)
- Simon G: There is just so much for us to get through if we want to revive the party back to where we want it to be
- Tom wants to get a 12 month action plan (or time until next NC) on track
- Congress notes have been recovered
- Congress set / reminded us of overall internal values / principles
- Congress notes have been recovered
- Not a "Working Group", just the NC having extra meetings
- ACTION ITEM: Strategy to be planned via. Discuss
- ACTION ITEM: 1st meeting on Monday at 9PM AEST
- Future meetings after not planned as yet
- Tom: We need to move from values definitions of the strategy process -> analysis of our existing position strengths/weaknesses & workshopping opportunities to improve party functions / structures -> action plan
- ACTION ITEM: Put this into Discuss
Privacy Policy (Simon G)
- I am working on this: https://pad.pirateparty.org.au/p/privacy-policy-v3
- Should probably be checked by someone with legal knowledge (SimonG)
- Needs input from others because I'm not 100% sure on party workings (SimonG)
- Tom: The language needs to be simple and concise
- Maybe copy OAIC's Privacy Policy
- Fletcher: NPP was replaced a few years back, so it's already out of date
- The primary goal of our privacy policy should be to clearly outline how we treat private data. Also remember that because we're a political party some things simply don't apply
- While the privacy policy is urgent rushing into something will end up screwing us over much worse than waiting a while
- Fletcher offers to help, but might not reply right away
- ACTION ITEM: Fletcher to help Simon with Privacy Policy
Newsletter (Simon G)
- SimonG would like to run a newsletter
- Simon G: I'll organise items to be placed into it through Discuss, and then I'll liaise with Tom/IT when it's ready to go out.
- Make use of Email pad
- Frew: Needs 3 NC members to sign off
- Frew: Emily S involvement encouraged
- Emily says that she will do a short forward message
- 1st one: https://emailpad.pirateparty.org.au/load/mailout-newsletter-2017-09
- Go through Bureau/SocMed
- Get 3x NC approval
- Tom will actually press send after approval
- ACTION ITEM: Simon to organise it via Discuss
General Business
- Some topics have been deferred to next meeting due to time
- Fletcher: IT is a Team, not a Working Group, but used to be one before Teams, so referred to as both
- Mark: Owes Tom some beers after AEC audit, being secretary during an Audit is not for faint hearted.
- Mark: Thanks again to Tom for raising cash
- Mark is still arranging signature transfer, first Frew, then other NC
- Tom: Remove Sam Lee-Lindsay as an IT Officer
- Fletcher would like IT related items to have notice to ITT@ and be early on in meeting
Motions
- MOTION: Accept the minutes of the 2017-08-23 National Council meeting as presented
- Put by: Tom Randle
- Ayes: 6 (Tom Randle, Simon Frew, Miles Whiticker, Simon Gnieslaw, Alex Jago, Emily Sievers); Nays: 0 (); Abstains: 1 (Mark Gibbons)
- Motion carries.
- Put by: Tom Randle
- MOTION: The Secretary and Registered Officer will write to the AEC requesting an extension of time in regard to the 138A review notice.
- Put by: Tom Randle
- Ayes: 7 (Miles Whiticker, Emily Sievers, Tom Randle, Alex Jago, Simon Gnieslaw, Simon Frew, Mark Gibbons); Nays: 0 (); Abstains: 0
- Motion carries.
- Put by: Tom Randle
- MOTION: Revoke all current Deputy Registered Officers of the Party's federal registration.
- Put by: Tom Randle
- Ayes: 5 (Tom Randle, Simon Gnieslaw, Mark Gibbons, Simon Frew, Emily Sievers); Nays: 0 (); Abstains: 1 (Miles Whiticker)
- Motion carries.
- Alex Jago missed the vote but later adds comment "FWIW, I supported the DRO removal, so it's all good"
- Put by: Tom Randle
- MOTION: Remove Sam Lee-Lindsay from the IT team
- Put by: Tom Randle
- Ayes: 5 (Tom Randle, Simon Gnieslaw, Alex Jago, Emily Sievers, Simon Frew); Nays: 0 (); Abstains: 1 (Miles Whiticker)
- Motion carries.
- Put by: Tom Randle
- MOTION: Close meeting
- Put by: Tom Randle
- Ayes: 5 (Tom Randle, Simon Frew, Simon Gnieslaw, Alex Jago, Emily Sievers); Nays: 0 (); Abstains: 1 (Miles Whiticker)
- Motion carries.
CFV Motions
- MOTION: Approve up to $400 to pay for lodgement of overdue financial affairs documents with NSW Fair Trading
- Put by: Mark Gibbons
- Ayes: 6 (Mark Gibbons, Simon Gnieslaw, Miles Whiticker, Tom Randle, Simon Frew, Emily Sievers); Nays: 0 (); Abstains: 0 ()
- Motion carries.