The Australian Pirate Party has officially endorsed a “basic income policy” (more precisely, a negative income tax), according to an announcement published on June 14th, 2016.
In the announcement, Sam Kearns and Darren McIntosh — New South Wales senate candidates from Pirate Party Australia — elaborate on the need for a basic income, focusing on concerns about automation, the “inefficient, patronising and punitive bureaucracy” of Australia’s current welfare system, and the advantage of basic income in facilitating care work as well as new business and innovation.
As described in the party’s Wiki, the policy is a negative income tax designed to result in a minimum income of $14,062 per year for adults (aged 18 and over) who have completed school. This baseline amount would be “topped up” in certain cases, including parents, caregivers, aged and disabled persons, veterans, and low-income earners who lack public housing.
Pirate Party Australia was founded in 2008 and legally recognized by the Australian Electoral Commission in 2013. According to Wikipedia, it claimed approximately 1300 members as of 2015.
