2011

After more than three great years, this will be my last week with Pixel Fusion. I have accepted a position as a Senior Developer at Vend.

It's a well known fact that I'm rather shite at keeping this blog up to date. I often have had a lot to say but the content never felt like it was the right fit for what I wanted to achieve with this site. A while ago I came up with an idea to create multiple blogs, each dedicated to different topics that I want to talk about. Although it has actually been running for a few weeks now, I would like to formally announce the first of these new blogs, Arbitrary.

As I have previously mentioned, I don't believe that any of the alternatives on offer in this year's referendum are better than MMP. However, I would like to propose an alternative Electoral System: Proportional Representation. Please keep in mind that this is intended as an initial discussion piece that could evolve into something more solid.

This year, alongside the general election there will be a referendum on the future of MMP and the selection of a potential competitor, should we decide that replacing MMP is an option. I want to look at the different options for electoral system that we have available.

We’ve all seen the ads that run before movies, at least those of us who still pay to see them. “You wouldn’t steal a car. You wouldn’t steal a handbag. You wouldn’t steal a movie." And that’s what they would have you believe, that copyright infringement is exactly the same as theft. Not like theft, but the same as theft. Some (who themselves listen to pirated K-pop) even try to tell us that assault on copyright is the same as assault on a human being.

The Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill is a flawed piece of legislature but a big part of the public outcry wasn't just the bill itself but also the way in which it was passed. It made the public aware of the ongoing abuse of parliament's urgency laws as well as the fact that politicians pass laws with little understanding of what the laws mean.

The Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill was passed with a large parliamentary majority but also with a big outcry from the public. I've written about copyright infringement and now I want to write about the law that has stirred up so much discussion.