This year, Pirate Parties have emerged all around the world, putting copyright, censorship and privacy issues on the political agenda. Down under the Australian Pirate Party is eager to join in. They are currently seeking 500 founding members in order to become registered as an official political party.

2009 has been a disastrous year for several well-established torrent sites, with The Pirate Bay and Mininova losing in court against the entertainment industries. Not completely unrelated, this year has been a very successful one for the political Pirate Party movement.

The Pirate Party currently holds two seats in the European Parliament thanks to the massive support from Swedish voters. In the aftermath of this accomplishment several new parties were founded worldwide. In the UK the Pirate Party was officially registered at the Electoral Commission in August and Canada has been pursuing the same goal for a while, now followed by Australia.

The Pirate Party Australia just announced that it is now accepting founding members in their attempt to get the party officially registered with the Australian Electoral Commission. In order to get registered the party needs 500 members who sign and send in their application form, plus a $20.00 founders fee.

“With this small but significant step, we will be one step closer to providing Australian electors with the option of voting ‘Pirate’ at the next Federal election, to fight for a fairer and more balanced copyright, greater innovation and access to culture, information and knowledge, greater government transparency and the protection of our civil liberties,” the Party announced.

David Crafti, President of Pirate Party Australia, stresses the importance of a political party that defends citizens rights against the ever-growing power of pro-copyright lobbyists.

“With the current government attempting to implement an Internet censorship regime, continuing secretive ACTA negotiations and an increasingly belligerent war on sharing, here and across the globe – it is now more important than ever that we work to protect our civil liberties, and our democracy,” Crafti said.

The Aussie Pirate Party hopes to have the 500 required membership applications in before the end of the year. They encourage prospective members to send in their application forms (pdf) as soon as is possible, so the party can become officially registered and get to work.