After having a bit of a chin-wag to decide who would be best to represent its interests at the upcoming Federal Election, the Australian Pirate Party has announced its candidates for four states.
Candidates from the Australian-branch of the Pirate Party will run in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.
Party Secretary Brendan Molloy and Party President David Campbell will stand in New South Wales, Joe Miles and Geoff Hammett will stand in Victoria, Melanie Thomas and Liam Pomfret will stand in Queensland, while Thomas Randle will stand in Tasmania, with more candidates possibly to be announced after the Pirate Party’s upcoming National Congress.
The Pirate Party’s leadership says that the election campaign will be run on a platform of civil liberties. Brendan Molloy said in a blog post:
Australia needs strong representatives that actually stand for principles. I intend to be that representative, pushing back on the encroaching surveillance state of data retention and Internet censorship, while offering positive and much needed reform for copyright, digital liberties and civil liberties. For too long the electorate has been treated poorly by the incumbents, assuming that the voter will only choose between the big two parties. We offer Australians a real option for political change. I look forward to the public discourse, and hope everyone will join us in creating a better future for Australia.