Pirate Congress 2013/Motions

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Policy and Platform Amendment Motions

PM-1: Civil liberties policy

Put by: Policy Development Committee

Motion

Motion: To approve the Civil Liberties policy, replace section 4 of the platform, and insert the platform amendment listed at: [1] underneath the Declaration of Platform and Principles.

PM-2: Cultural participation policy

Put by: Policy Development Committee

Motion

Motion: To approve the Cultural Participation policy, and insert the Platform amendment listed at: [2] to follow the Copyright Reform section.

PM-3: Education and skills policy

Put by: Policy Development Committee

Motion

Motion: To approve the Education and Skills policy, and insert the Platform amendment listed at: [3] to follow the Patent Reform section.

PM-4: Reform of democratic institutions policy

Put by: Policy Development Committee

Motion

Motion: To approve the Reform of Democratic Institutions policy, and replace section 5 of the Platform with the Platform amendment listed at: [4] to follow the Education and Skills section.

PM-5: Biodiversity and animal welfare policy

Put by: Policy Development Committee

Motion

Motion: To approve the Biodiversity and animal welfare policy, remove section 11.2 of the platform and insert the platform amendment listed at: [5] to follow the Renewable Energy section.

PM-6: Asylum seekers and refugees policy

Put by: Policy Development Committee

Motion

Motion: To approve the Asylum Seekers and Refugees policy, and insert the Platform amendment listed at: [6] to follow the War on Drugs section.

PM-7: Foreign policy and treaty making

Put by: Policy Development Committee

Motion

Motion: To approve the Foreign policy & treaty making proposal, remove section 14 of the platform and insert the platform amendment listed at: [7] to follow the Asylum seekers & refugees section.

PM-8: Add optional extension for artists to copyright policy

Put by: Mark Gibbons

Motion

Insert the following text under the “Reduce copyright duration to 15 years” point in the copyright policy:

• An optional 15 year extension on copyright may be sought by the creator of copyrighted material, provided the copyright has at no stage been sold or signed away.
  • Extended copyright may be held and exercised only by the creator of the work.

Justification

This was raised at the April policy congress. To include it would:

• Provide an incentive for creators to hold onto copyright instead of selling it to Disney
• Ensure the ongoing production of large and epic works (think Game of Thrones)
• Reduce the risk of PPAU being seen as undermining artists
• Move copyright back to the (approximate) original duration

PM-9: Clarify company tax amendment in tax policy

Put by: Mark Gibbons

Motion

In the tax policy, replace:

• Cut the company tax rate from 30% to 25%, subject to cash flow tax revenue, and other changes to be revenue neutral.

with:

• Cut the company tax rate from 30% to 25%.
  • Other changes including cash flow tax settings and improved efficiency will provide revenue neutrality.

Justification

Clarity - the variable here should be cash flow tax, not company tax.

PM-10: Insert additional clause on tax thresholds into tax policy

Put by: Mark Gibbons

Motion

In the tax policy, replace:

• Increase the tax-free threshold to a level equal to the poverty line (currently $25,140) and remove the present clutch of offsets and thresholds.

With:

• Increase the tax-free threshold to a level equal to the poverty line (currently $25,140).[13]
• Apply simpler and lower tax brackets for income levels above the poverty line.
  • A 30% tax rate for income up to $120,000.
  • A 43% tax rate on income above $120,000.
• Remove tax offsets and thresholds to simplify collection and broaden the tax base.

Justification

An improvement to the policy. I modeled combinations of levels and thresholds and this set of values is the best. It will slightly reduce tax at every income level, retain revenue by closing loopholes and simplify the tax code by cutting 4 tax brackets down to 2.

PM-11: Update tax policy to account for recent ATO misbehaviour

Put by: Mark Gibbons

Motion

In the tax policy, insert under “Make tax administration more transparent and citizen-focused”:

• Remove ATO powers to impose or enforce confidentiality clauses on taxpayers.

Justification

A response to a recent issue (the ATO gagging taxpayers to hide its own mistakes).

PM-12: Insert clarifying text into welfare policy

Put by: Mark Gibbons

Motion

In the welfare policy, under “A Parenting Supplement will provide a fixed amount per child to cover food, clothing and other direct costs of child raising”, insert:

• Parenting and childbirth supplements will be available as discrete modules to working parents who qualify under the means test.

And, under “Introduce a modular, simplified transfer payments system”, insert (underneath all other sections):

• Pensions and support administered by the Veteran’s Affairs Department will remain unchanged and will continue to operate under existing arrangements.

Justification

The policy always intended to retain child support payments for workers on low incomes, and was always intended to reorganise centrelink programs only. These changes make this more explicit.

PM-13: Update welfare policy to include NDIS

Put by: Mark Gibbons

Motion

Under “A Pension Supplement will provide an additional $70 per week for senior citizens, disabled persons and full-time carers.”, insert:

• Additional resources will be available for persons facing profound disability.
  • The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is supported as the best means to provide those resources.
    • There should be no cut-off age for the NDIS.

Justification

Improves benefit customisation and extends PPAU support to the NDIS.

PM-14: Add additional description to the welfare policy

Put by: Mark Gibbons

Motion

Insert at the end of the platform amendment:

A single modular payment which can be customised to individual circumstances will provide a more efficient and effective safety net than the current system of rigid, separate payments.

Justification

Sells the policy a bit more.

PM-15: Add additional text on the social benefits of the energy policy

Put by: Mark Gibbons

Motion

In the energy policy, replace:

A large-scale rollout of renewable power will enable us address climate change in the necessary time frame, create over 150,000 jobs[6], and provide urgently-needed stimulus to the struggling manufacturing and construction industries. Associated costs can be met through the sale of completed power assets, and by re-working existing levies and revenue streams allocated to renewables. The project brings the ambition and vision encapsulated in the Snowy River Hydro scheme[7] to the 21st century.

With:

A large-scale rollout of renewable power will address climate change in the necessary time frame, create over 150,000 jobs[6], and provide urgently-needed stimulus to the struggling manufacturing and construction industries. It also offers a means to provide long-term jobs, investment , and financial independence to our most impoverished and remote communities. Associated costs can be met through the sale of completed power assets, and through reworking of existing levies and revenue streams allocated to renewables. The project brings the ambition and vision encapsulated in the Snowy River Hydro scheme[7] to the 21st century.

And, under “Institute a 10-year construction project to build a renewable energy grid”, insert:

• Placement will include plans for construction and investment in remote and deprived areas, including willing indigenous communities, where technically feasible.

Justification

Our policy could lead to employment, investment and a potential answer to abuse and poverty in remote communities. We should play up this social dimension.

PM-16: Allow for a potential mixed private/public ownership model in the energy policy

Put by: Mark Gibbons

Motion

In the energy policy, replace:

• A $2/week household energy levy (raising approximately one-quarter of revenue required over the duration of the scheme)
  • This levy will include a sunset clause, automatically removing it on completion of the project.
  • The existing RET will be removed to reduce cost pressures on households.

With:

• A $4/week household energy levy (raising approximately one-half of revenue required over the duration of the scheme).
  • The existing RET will be phased out to reduce cost pressures on households.
    • Investments supported by the RET will instead be supported through direct funding and inclusion within the wider renewable energy grid.

And replace:

• The sale of completed power generation assets.

With:

• The sale of a portion of completed power generation assets.
  • Some power generation may be retained under public ownership to provide consumer choice and price competition.

Justification

Provides a more robust funding base for the policy. The higher levy is affordable given the removal of the RET. A higher levy during reduces the need to sell assets at the end, allowing for a combination of public and private ownership structures. This should keep prices down and appeal to people who support public ownership.

PM-17: Update digital liberties platform amendment to reflect recent developments

Put by: Mark Gibbons

Motion

Underneath the first paragraph under Censorship, insert (in separate paragraph):

New censorship proposals come on top of existing, secret censorship mechanisms. Section 313 of the Telecommunications Act has been used by officials to block access to around 250,000 legitimate websites to date, with no application of oversight and accountability. We believe the rampant misuse of this provision warrants its removal, with any replacement clause to be subject to proper consultation and higher legislative standards.

and underneath existing data retention text, insert (in separate paragraph):

While data retention is only a proposal at present, recent revelations show that Australians are already subject to an array of secret, warrantless spying on emails, chats, photographs, documents and website addresses. Such spying poses little threat to terrorists: terrorist forums are not indexed by most search engines and do not inhabit the servers targeted by the PRISM program. However, mass-trawling of personal data poses a significant threat to the liberties of the global public and undermines cooperation and trust between citizens and the state. Unrestricted surveillance of the public combined with total obscurity for the state is untenable. Far more legitimacy, trust, and effectiveness will be earned by applying proper oversight and inbuilt protections for civil liberties, including proper use of warrants.

Justification

This policy was overtaken by events.

PM-18: Update digital liberties policy text to reflect recent developments

Put by: Mark Gibbons

Motion

Replace:

Prevent the institution of a state-mandated data retention regime.

• Oppose and repeal any legal mechanisms enacted to create records of Internet use among the general public.
• Securely delete any data collected though such a regime.

Prevent the institution of Internet censorship.

• Oppose and repeal any mandatory censorship architecture.
• Linking should not be a crime.

With:

Install explicit protections for privacy and digital rights.

• Oppose mandatory censorship and web-blocking architecture.
  • Repeal the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Act 1999.
  • Repeal the Communications Legislation Amendment (Content Services) Act 2007.
  • Delete section 313 of the Telecommunications Act.
  • Ensure no criminal offence applies for linking on the Internet.
• Prevent warrantless monitoring of internet use among the general public.
  • Oppose and repeal any legal mechanisms enacted to create records of Internet use among the general public.
    • Records obtained through such schemes to be securely deleted.
    • No authorisation for unnecessary data collection.
  • Replace the Cybercrime Act with more appropriate legislation for the digital age.
  • Conduct an independent review of the Telecommunications Interception and Access Act to ensure digital liberties are properly protected.
  • No future access to phone or internet metadata without a warrant.
  • Ban practice of agencies obtaining private information on Australian citizens through the NSA or other offshore surveillance not subject to Australian protections and laws.
  • Anti-terrorism practice to emphasise greater use of informants and targeted infiltration.
• Ensure individuals have a legally protected right to control data collection on devices they own.
  • Control should cover duration data is retained for, encryption and sending of data, and when data is deleted.
• Ensure no penalties apply to individuals who refuse to provide passwords or assist in decrypting information (in line with existing legal practices regarding self-incrimination).

And replace

• Support the installation of fibre-to-the-home Internet connections wherever possible.

with

• Support fibre-to-the-premises infrastructure projects to help build a vibrant digital society.

And remove

Reform the classification system.

• Remove the catch-all "Refused Classification" category from any classification systems.

Justification

This policy was overtaken by events. The classification text is now covered within the civil liberties policy.

PM-19: Streaming of Free-to-Air Television

Put by: Sunny Kalsi

Policy amendment

Motion: To amend the line "Technological format-shifting, whether physical or digital," in the Copyright policy to read:

Technological format-shifting, whether physical or digital. This includes, for example, streaming free-to-air television over the Internet,

Justification

This would make streaming data over the Internet legal, even if it is being streamed from overseas. This is similar to allowing parallel imports.

PM-20: Workarounds to Streaming Restrictions

Put by: Sunny Kalsi

Policy amendment

Motion: To add to the Copyright policy, under the section "Curtail attempts to restrict consumer rights" the following:

• Workarounds to streaming restrictions will be protected. This includes:
  • Any measures which allow streaming from other regions, and
  • Offering these measures as a service.

Justification

This is a logical extension of motion PM-19: Streaming of Free-to-Air Television.