National Congress 2021 - You're Invited!

Congress
1

2020_congress_ship-none_smol

National Congress 2021 — You’re invited!

G’day Pirates,

I hereby invite you to the 2021 Pirate Party Annual National Congress!

The National Congress is an opportunity for members to propose and debate new policies and constitutional amendments, hear nominations for Party Officials, and meet Pirates from around Australia.

It is held annually and is the paramount decision making body of Pirate Party Australia.

Date: Saturday 31st July and Sunday 1st August.

Last year we held Congress entirely online and it went so well we decided to do it again! Attend from anywhere by video call and text chat.

Book your ticket today!

Watch parties and Friday night meetups are a distinct possibility! If you’d like to meet up with your local pirates, drop me an email at secretary@pirateparty.org.au. With any luck, I’ll be able to put you and a mate or two in touch! Better yet, make a post on the forums for more visibility.

I urge everyone - this means you - to consider running for National Council. This year, we’ve had only six out of nine positions filled. That’s not sustainable, so please step up and help out! As always - we’re a party for everyone and we want people from all walks of life in our leadership team.

Details of the National Congress, including the agenda, new policies, nominations, constitutional amendments and details on how to participate online will be available on the Wiki:

The National Congress is followed by a seven day voting period, which is open to all members. All members will be emailed ballot information at the opening of this voting period.

There are a number of dates and deadlines and procedures to follow if you wish to submit items to the National Congress or declare candidacy for positions.

Constitutional Amendments:

Policies and Policy Amendments:

  • It would be appreciated if policy proposals could be submitted at least 10 days before National Congress so that they can be allowed for in the agenda.
  • Email your proposals to secretary@pirateparty.org.au.

Nominations:

  • Positions up for election are all nine National Councillors, the Policy Development Officer, and one position on the Dispute Resolution Committee.
  • Nominations can be accepted up until the relevant agenda item at National Congress.
  • Nominations for electable positions can be made by following the instructions here: Pirate Congress 2021/Nominations - Pirate Party Australia Wiki

We thank you for your continued support!

Please feel free to discuss National Congress or any other matters in our discussion forums at https://discuss.pirateparty.org.au/

Yours sincerely,

Alex Jago
Secretary
Pirate Party Australia

4

National Congress — 4 weeks to go!

Hi Pirates,

National Congress is now just under four weeks away! I hope to see many of you then.

RSVP for Congress today!

The deadline to submit Constitutional Amendment Proposals for consideration at this year’s National Congress was this morning. That deadline has now passed with no proposals received — our party constitution is clearly in good shape!

Since I don’t have any CAPs to tell you about, I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to consider nominating for an elected position and/or writing a policy proposal. We can always do with fresh faces and energy; and while our policy is extensive it doesn’t cover everything!

Nominating is straightforward - just answer the following few questions:

  • Why do you feel that you are qualified for the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

  • Why are you seeking the position for which you have declared your candidacy?

  • What experience/contribution have you made so far to the Pirate movement, and what will you do to advance or better the Party and movement?

  • Do you agree with the Pirate Party platform and its ideals? What other political movements or parties have you been a part of?

You may also wish to provide some additional documentation, and to include a picture.

For policy proposals, I recommend a read-through of our existing policy to see how it will fit in.

If you’re familiar with wiki syntax, you can add nominations and policy motions to the party wiki yourself. Otherwise, simply email them to me at secretary@pirateparty.org.au and I’ll put them up for you :slight_smile:

Kind Regards,

Alex Jago
Secretary
Pirate Party Australia

5

We will have something to talk about! PM-1 (Gene Patents update) and PM-2 (Marriage Policy update) have just gone up onto the wiki.

6

Hi Pirates,

One busy day of Congress has concluded and one is yet to occur!

On Saturday, we received the President’s, Secretary’s and Treasurer’s reports. We considered eight out of the ten formal and policy motions; six will proceed to the membership for ratification (with some amendments). And we even enjoyed a guest interview with the artist and activist Jpeg.

You can find preliminary minutes from Saturday here, and re-watch the day’s live-stream here.

On Sunday, we’ll elect the next National Council, Policy Development Officer, and one of the three Dispute Resolution Committee members. We’ll also consider the remaining two policy motions, enjoy a second interview, and finish up by discussing the future directions that the party should take.

Nominations are still open for all positions, until 10am AEST on Sunday. At the time of writing, we still have 8 National Council nominations for 9 positions, and the Dispute Resolution Committee position has not yet received a nomination.

If you’d like to nominate for a position, please add your nomination here or email secretary@pirateparty.org.au for help :slight_smile:

Key Links

Kind Regards,

Alex Jago
Secretary
Pirate Party Australia

7

Alex may be posting a retrospective of the Sunday shortly, but thank you to everyone who attended. The weekend has been a big step up over previous years, with a number of productive PMs put through and a much higher production value on our livestream than ever before. It’s also exciting to have such a swathe of nominations for electable positions, and attendance has been the highest it has for many years.

8

Congress 2021 — Thank you!

Hi Pirates,

National Congress has now concluded. It’s been a productive weekend in many ways, but it also signals plenty of work that we must do!

Motions

One Formal Motion and seven Policy Motions were passed by Congress. These will proceed to the full party membership for ratification, via email vote in the coming week — so keep an eye out!

I’ll send another email when voting starts outlining each motion, and you’ll have at least a week to complete our ballot.

People

I’d especially like to congratulate our new office-bearers:

  • Andrew Downing stepping up again as both a Councillor and as Policy Development Officer,
  • Mitchell Curnoe stepping up as Deputy Treasurer,
  • Roger Whatling stepping up as Deputy Secretary,
  • Sean O’Farrell stepping up to the the Dispute Resolution Committee.

Miles, Brandon, John, Fred, Dave and myself continue in our existing roles on the National Council, as to Bryn and Liam who are mid-term on the DRC. Thank you all for your continuing efforts. I’d also like to thank Phillip Richards (outgoing Councillor), Pip Foweraker (outgoing PDO) and Mark Gibbons (outgoing DRC) for their work this year and in previous years.

I’d also like to say a huge thank you to Bryn Busai, who has been serving as Livestream Wrangler not just for this and last years’ Congresses but for all our online events recently.

Minutes

The minutes are still in preliminary draft form, but as they progress you’ll find them on the party wiki here: Pirate Congress 2021/Minutes - Pirate Party Australia Wiki

Call To Action

The next federal election is due at any time before May next year. For us to be in a fit state to contest it, we need at least 150 more members — either new or renewing after some years away. That’s not really a big number, but we won’t get there without your help! Tell your friends, colleagues and neighbours about us, and what we stand for: civil liberties, copyright reform, the basic income, and more - there’s plenty to talk about.

Together, we’ll put Pirates back on the ballot paper!

Kind Regards,
Alex Jago
Secretary
Pirate Party Australia