Pirate Congress 2015/Motions/Policy and Platform/Declaration of Principles Update

Draft Policy This is a draft policy which may still be under development and is not approved or endorsed by the party. Until such time as it is endorsed by the party, it does not represent the views or intentions of the party.

Declaration of platform and principles

Pirate Parties have been founded all over the world with a shared purpose: to protect civil and digital liberties and create a more inclusive and creative culture. We seek to build a vibrant digital society in Australia, underpinned by freedom of culture and speech, personal privacy, institutional transparency, creativity and enterprise.

The following platform presents a detailed blueprint of reforms which implement these principles. The reforms include:

• Greater protection for speech, privacy, and personal sovereignty;
• An end to the encroachment of stifling intellectual and state monopolies and creation of a freer and more participatory culture;
• Educational reforms with a focus on developing creativity and life skills;
• State systems which embody principles of secularism and non-discrimination;
• Improved government transparency and a re-casting of state institutions: we seek a state which supports and enables, rather than one which controls and constrains;
• A simpler tax code and basic income guarantee which removes disincentives from the poor and increases the rewards for work, enterprise and efficiency;
• Greater transparency and respect for human rights in our international engagement;
• Investment in digital connectivity, community-based clean energy generation, and a strong national science plan - the critical components of an innovative 21st century economy.

Our policies focus on opening up space for creative civil society rather than expanding the state: consequently, the financial cost of our reforms is minimal and wholly offset by savings encompassed within the policies themselves. As part of an international movement, we seek not only to reform national laws, but to reform perceptions and effect worldwide change. We seek to bring about change democratically, through activism, lobbying and parliamentary elections.