Minutes/Policy Development Committee Meeting/2014-01-08

Meeting Minutes This document is a record of a meeting. Do not edit this document without contacting the relevant group first.

Agenda

• Introductory matters
• Direction: universal healthcare, education and childcare (Brendan)
• Direction: revenge pornography (Brendan)
• Direction: constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians (Mozart)
• Direction: Tort of Privacy (David)

Attendance

• Mozart Olbrycht-Palmer
• Brendan Molloy
• David Crafti
• Andrew Downing
• Mark Gibbons

Apologies

• Nil.

Minutes

Introductory matters

• Mozart:
  • Joe Miles has resigned, leaving the committee with 9 members.
• Brendan:
• As quorum has not been met recently, proceed as though quorum is met and request National Council confirm validity of minutes at next NC meeting.
  • Daniel Judge is not involved with the Party as he recovers, so doesn't count when establishing quorum.
    • Mozart:
      • That can be a matter for the NC to decide when we present the minutes to them.

Direction: universal healthcare, education and childcare

• Brendan: Considering what our major point of difference can be for the next election
  • Major points of development for state branches
  • Areas of major importance are education and health, and by extension childcare
  • Would like to see the Party having a policy that ensures Australian children and young adults are given access to the best education in the world.
  • Would also like to see Australians provided with a healthcare system that has no gaps and covers all health aspects
    • Includes ambulance insurance and dental care, both of which are lacking
    • Needs e-health done right (if at all).
• David: Childcare helps allow more parents into the workplace
• Brendan: Providing equal opportunities to single parents and mothers who want to work through a proper, universal childcare system.
  • All of them speak for themselves, and they fit perfectly within the Pirate ethos
  • Innovative and accessible, and lead to a highly educated, diverse society
  • From a market perspective, an educated society is a happier and more prosperous society
  • Proposal is to focus on building universal healthcare, childcare and education policies.
• David: Healthcare should always be accessible to those who need it, but having lived in the UK, I've struggled to get a doctor's appointment when I've had a chest infection because people book in for fortnightly checkups.
  • Brendan: I'm talking about gaps in coverage, like anaesthetism. The actual system should have built-in safeguards where it is being exploited.
    • David: So not specifically opposing Abbott's $5 per visit to the GP?
    • Brendan: It is directly opposing that.
• Andrew: Whenever a party suggests these sorts of things, the loaded question is always "how are you going to pay for this?" We'd better have a good answer.
  • Brendan: That's the job of the PDC to find the answer while developing the policy.
    • I don't have all the answers, it is merely the goal.
• David: Saving on doctors visits could be achieved using the UK approach of only needing a medical certificate if you're off work for more than a week straight, and there's a higher limit on sick leave.
• See motions

Direction: revenge pornography

• Brendan: This is in a modern realm of its own as far as dodgy crimes go.
  • In many cases, once an image is online, it's online forever, and the humiliation never ends.
• David: I think we should focus on a tort of privacy.
• Brendan: Proposed response is to extend the sexual predator legislation to include revenge porn convictions.
  • If you think it's okay to put someone's naked body online to humiliate them, you'll find a government list with your face on it to humiliate you too.
• Andrew: This will be massively abused and create all sorts of stupidity.
  • Where's the line?
• Brendan: The situation is quite simple.
  • It's a post-domestic dispute situation.
  • An image was provided in a situation of trust
  • The relationship broke down
  • The image is later placed online in such a way that it cannot be taken down (i.e. placed online, forever).
  • The idea is that the legislation covers this as a sexual predator offence, as that was the goal: to blackmail or intimidate a person through sexual control.
• Andrew: Which images are okay, and which are not? When is the relationship over?
  • Not new issues for a court.
• David: I think as part of a tort of privacy, the courts can deal with this better.
  • They can develop good principles based on the evidence and all the facts, rather than focusing on a particular event that might be wrapped up with other intrusions.
• Andrew: So are we merely suggesting that this is provided as a new option for a judge when sentencing?
  • Brendan: Yes, and ensuring legislation is consistent.
  • Mozart: It also means the police can investigate complaints immediately.
• Brendan: When it comes to handling this situation of permanent publication of an image, the main change is adding teh concept of "permanent publication."
  • Once something is online, it is technically potentially permanently in distribution.
  • That's the nature of digital environments.
• Brendan: State laws are broad and confusing on this. Some consider it stalking, such as Victoria(?)
  • David: Stalking probably doesn't cover a single instances of publication of previously obtained material.
• Brendan: In many cases, the perpetrator is telling them they're doing it.
  • The case that spurned me to produce this was a blackmail case.
• Mozart: you would also need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused actually did it.
  • Brendan: Yes, it will be difficult in many cases. This is to act as a deterrent.
• David: would it be strict liability or require mens rea (a knowledge of what you were doing).
  • Mozart and Brendan: Mens rea. Intent to cause harm/humiliate.
  • Brendan: Being an idiot and putting a naked picture on Facebook and it leaking isn't the same as purposely putting a picture on a shaming site.
• Andrew: Can this be broader than just revenge porn?
  • Brendan: This policy will be technically detailed, as it builds on areas not otherwise developed in legislation so far.
  • David: The tort of privacy would likely provide expansion into other areas.
• Brendan: This is a good issue to focus on for multiple reasons:
  • It shows we can handle sexual criminal issues.
  • It shows we can truly handle digital criminal issues
  • It shows that we are responsive to issues in the community.
• See motions

Direction: constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians

• Mozart: This is more of a stepping stone goal that might lead to other goals.
  • It's a target to reach and then decide where to go from there.
  • Once reached, the choices would probably be to move into a borader constitutional reform policy (and merge with Bill of Rights policy) or into an Indigenous Affairs policy.
• See motions.

Direction: Tort of Privacy

• Mozart: Don't think there's anything to add, happy to vote on this.
  • David: That's fine, let's vote.
• See motions

Direction: universal healthcare, education and childcare (revisited)

• Revisited to allow Mark to vote, and therefore meet quorum for that vote.
• See motions

Direction: revenge pornography (revisited)

• Revisited to allow Mark to vote, and therefore meet quorum for that vote.
• See motions

Closing matters

• Discussion of forming working groups moved to be conducted via email.
• See motions

Motions

• MOTION: Focus on the development of universal healthcare, education and childcare policies. Healthcare should consider dental and ambulance cover. Education should consider cost of education and accessibility.
  • Put by: Brendan
  • Ayes: 5 (Brendan, Mozart, dcrafti, AndrewD, markg); Nays: 0 (); Abstains: 0 ()
    • Motion carries.

• MOTION: Focus on the develpoment of a revenge pornography policy that considers the introduction of a concept of "permanent publication" and the addition of predators to a list.
  • Put by: Brendan
  • Ayes: 2 (Brendan, Mozart); Nays: 2 (dcrafti, AndrewD); Abstains: 0 ()
    • Motion lapses.

• MOTION: Focus on the development of a policy regarding Indigenous Australians, having specific regard to the proposals of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians.
  • Put by: Mozart
  • Ayes: 5 (Brendan, dcrafti, Mozart, markg, AndrewD); Nays: 0 (); Abstains: 0 ()
    • Motion carries.

• MOTION: Focus on the development of a policy regarding a tort for privacy violations.
  • Put by: Brendan
  • Ayes: 5 (Brendan, Mozart, dcrafti, AndrewD, markg); Nays: 0 (); Abstains: 0 ()
    • Motion carries.

• MOTION: Focus on the development of a revenge pornography policy that considers the introduction of a concept of "permanent publication", a potential sentencing requiring placement on a list for sexual predators, and the ability for police to act upon threatening calls.
  • Put by: Brendan
  • Ayes: 4 (Brendan, Mozart, AndrewD, markg); Nays: 1 (dcrafti); Abstains: 0 ()
    • Motion carries.

• MOTION: Close meeting.
  • Put by: Brendan
  • Ayes: 4 (Mozart, dcrafti, Brendan, AndrewD); Nays: 0 (); Abstains: 0 ()
    • Motion carries.