"Good evening, New Zealand.

Now, I'll keep it brief tonight. There have been a number of very important messages that the Pirate Party has been campaigning on this election. And I think this night, and this location, sums it up quite well. During the COVID-19 pandemic, flights in and out of this airport have dwindled to a bare minimum of domestic flights. No longer can we see the beauties and the culture of the world.

This reflects the state of the internet under overly restrictive copyright laws, where copyright has been placed over open access of information. No longer can we access the repository of information that was envisioned by the original forefathers of the World Wide Web, but instead information is either stuck behind paywalls, or taken down for infringing overly broad and farcical copyright laws.

It also, of course, represents the state of the literal world. And while tens of thousands of New Zealanders are getting vaccinated by the day, it will be longer and longer before foreign countries are able to be vaccinated. Richer countries like us have hoarded the vaccine at the expense of developing nations. Despite there being essentially unlimited demand, pharmaceutical patents restrict production to a few ginormous and ultra-wealthy pharmaceutical companies, bottlenecking supply. This airport will remain as is for a very long time if we can't act to end this pandemic.

On the campaign trail, I've had many people tell me that, you know, 'why copyright? Who really cares about paywalls and trademarks or whatever?' And my answer is simple. The matter of copyright is one that ripples across society. While it might seem like some esoteric or niche issue, it is the opposite. The impact of copyright laws go from roadblocks on the information superhighway, to actual human lives. Lives are being lost because of our unjust laws relating to intellectual property.

And this brings me back to the foundational slogan of the Pirate Party - we will put freedom over copyright. I've been saying this across the past few days and weeks, but there is no greater threat to the freedom of Kiwis than big companies abusing copyright laws. While other parties might try and act like crack cocaine being given to 3 year olds is the biggest threat we face, or that the Chinese will launch a land invasion in a few months, the Pirate Party is the only political party in this election with a strong policy framework to address the issue of copyright.

If you love freedom, liberty, and the right to access information, then give your party vote to Pirate Party, and your candidate vote to any local Pirate Party candidate that might be running in your electorate.

Good night, New Zealand. Tomorrow, vote like your life depends on it - because it may.