$2 Discounted Pirate Party NZ Membership

This post is about changes to the fee to join the Pirate Party.

Until yesterday, the membership fee for PPNZ was a blanket $10. This value is similar to most of the parties in parliament.

Here are the minimum membership fees of some other parties*:

• National: $5 minimum, expect at least $30
• Labour: $5 minimum, expect $6.60 unwaged or $15 waged
• Greens: $15
• ACT: $20 (or $15 via the youth wing)
• Maori: $2, ask for additional $8 donation

* If you have information about other parties, feel free to post it in the comments

Since yesterday, the PPNZ membership has been split: a 'standard' fee of $10 and an alternative 'discounted' fee of $2. This is very similar to the Maori Party:

Membership is only $2.00 with this we ask for an $8.00 donation.

The only real difference i think is in the sentiment. In the Maori Party, the sentiment might be that new members are followers of the leadership, and are not expected to do much after joining. The leadership is responsible for finding funds and asking nicely for an $8 donation to help them out.

OTOH, the sentiment in the Pirate Party seems to be more that new members are more or less expected to take a more equal stake in the Party, the funding, and to have some involvement. The 'discounted' fee seems more like the rest of the members helping them out to the tune of $8, out of an understanding that some people will feel $10 is too much.

I guess in a way the difference is a sign that the Pirate Party is looking for more than just on-paper members and money - they also need more people to take ownership of the party and shape it's collective opinion.

[Disclaimer: the author is involved in the administration of the Pirate Party]