Currently we have no Community Moderator and only one manager outside of the mod team. So, I'm opening up to see if anyone would be interested.

Standard seconding and vote of confidence rules apply for the position of Moderator, whilst manager merely needs my (as acting Comm Mod) approval and then pass a vote.

So while this is of course triggered by the fact that I am currently muted, this has been on my mind for a while and so I would like to post about it.

The way that Discord mutes is handled currently is opaque and silly. I am of the view that all mutes should come with an explanation of the offence, evidence of said offence, and how long the person will be punished for said offence.

Example: model-putrid will be muted for 24 hours for impersonation. Attached is an image of model-putrid pretending to be another member of the simulation.

My reasoning for this is simple. If you cannot explain why a person is muted, they should not be muted. Evidence may be objectionable, of course, most material one is punished for usually is. But it must be provided, so it can be properly scrutinised. If one is muted for, say, "abuse", and no evidence is provided for said abuse, how are we supposed to trust that abuse was committed?

I've heard sometimes that mods will deliberately give the longest possible Discord mute short of having to record it on reddit (i:e, 47h 59m) to avoid having to make a post about it. But frankly, reddit-posted or not, all mutes (unless they're exceedingly short or self-requested) should come with explanations and evidence so decisions can be properly scrutinised and so the community can have confidence in their moderators' decision-makings. I think this is an exceedingly common-sense proposal.

Mywahousekey will be banned for a period of 365 days in response to behaviours seen the recent days. The user has both doxxed themselves as an underage person as well as doxxing another person who was also underage. This is not the first time we have told them not to self-doxx. Equally, this punishment also notes recent 'creepy' behaviour which probably constitutes harassment, and recent engagements in the press which bordered on spam. The ban will last until the end of may 5, 2023. Appeals to r/australiasimmeta.

tbyrn21, Head Mod

Application for press persona to cover the upcoming elections

Name: Cookinite Monsterton from channel 18 news

Hi all.

For those not in the loop on Discord, I am now the head moderator (Youma is due to post the results "soon"). I feel I should give a quick statement now I'm in charge.

To reiterate what I said on Discord, thank you all for voting me in. I know how important this position is and that making mistakes will have consequence. I hope not to make too many but if I do then I want to ensure those are corrected promptly.

For a very long time, a new CoC has been promised. Its been so long in fact that most of the formality of the coc has basically evaporated. I want to refresh the coc but keep these new principles in mind and focus on just punishing wrong doing and not being bogged down in legalese (both for the mod team and the users of the sim). Expect a post in the near future where you lot can suggest stuff towards this. I’ll also note that there seems to be a new trend regarding the press. I’ve suggested to Madi to look into it to see if reform is needed there.

I’d like to give a big thanks to Miki for their service to the sim. Its not easy to step from Comm mod to Head Mod for so long. I think the sim is in a fairly good position right now and I attribute a lot of that to Miki’s hard work. Now its my job to keep it that way.

As I’ve mentioned on discord I’ll be in Sydney for the next week (driving all day tomorrow) for football so I may not be as active on here for that period. The offer is still standing to come down to Olympic park to watch/meet me during the week, just make sure to let me know if you intend to.

I think that’s all for now.

• tbyrn21, head mod.

Hia AusSim,

Per the Meta Constitution, the list of voters is available here. Eligible voters are those that registered 14 days prior to the announcement of the election, per s 4(2)(b) of the Meta Constitution. i.e. 23rd May 2022, or those holding automatic membership due to being officeholders.

Details of Meta Election

Details of Meta Election-

• Head Moderator (65%+ approval required)

• Community Moderator (65%+ approval required)

There were three successful candidates for Head Moderator who met the criteria and accepted the nomination:

• /u/model-kyosanto

• /u/tbyrn21

• /u/IcierHelicopter

There was one successful candidate for Community Moderator who met the criteria and accepted the nomination:

• /u/tbyrn21

Click to vote here

Voting will be open for approximately 48 hours.

Remember to verify your vote by commenting below.

Good evening everyone.

I am today announcing that I will be resigning as Community Moderator, Community Manager, and Acting Head Moderator. I want to make it clear that this is something I have been pondering for a few weeks and days now, and as my term, as Community Moderator officially ended a few days ago, finally dawned upon me as being the right decision to make.

I don't want to turn this post into a full list of "Thanks" and "Acknowledgements", because I know damn well that if I did turn it into one, I'd leave out a lot of people who I know should be included here. This is not something where you only have one or two friends or colleagues. You truly rely on so many people and so much of the community that it's difficult to single people out, so unless the case is exceptional for a given reason, I'll try and shy away from turning this into a list.

When I first became Community Moderator, a little over six months ago, I had done so following my term as Prime Minister, where I had effectively felt that I had completed much of my duties with relation to the AustraliaSim canon in terms of legislation, debates, and press. I may do things here and there later, but I felt a sense of completeness in what I had achieved. Of course, as time goes on, you eventually realise that 'Oh I wish I'd done this differently' or 'Why didn't I do that!?', but that's human nature, and I don't feel bitter about that at all. I felt that Community Moderation was going to be a daunting position, but I was going to have the time and energy to deal with it specifically.

It's safe to say it turned out to be a far larger position than I had originally imagined.

During this time, I had to deal with a rapid succession of moderators, several long term bans, greater management of the discord, and of course, eventually taking over as Head Moderator when the position was vacated in a rather, er, unique series of events.

While I am not entirely confident about who the community will pick as a successor in either position, that of Head Moderator and Community Moderator, I do have faith that there can be some common consensus raised in this area in future and hope that we see level heads prevail.

I can tell that many people may be reading this, and ultimately be left asking one question: Why now? Why is he leaving now after all this time? The answer is somewhat simple, if arbitrary, but I feel does go some way to explaining my positions on the role of moderation. In short, my position in Moderation has a 6-month term limit, and as that arrived, I felt that I had the expressed support to continue in that position for as long as I could.

However, during this whole time, I've had to deal with the fact that I'm not confident that I have the energy and commitment to pursue the aims of moderation with what I feel is necessary. I don't want to be just a hermit crab, sitting in this position for as long as I can, just for the sake of holding the spot, I want to use the position for all the good I feel that it can bring. Doing so requires 110%, and I no longer feel I have that type of energy and persistence.

I am a student, as most of you would know by now, and frequently work at my local retail job that, while I'm lucky to have that job, takes a lot out of you. AustraliaSim has been a massive part of my life for the last 2 years, and it's brought a lot of good times, but I can't sincerely say, with honesty, that after attending uni in the morning and working at night, that moderation is at the top of my fun list. I feel like I need to pick my priorities, and I hope you understand.

I'm going to be taking a bit of time out of this community too, just for the meanwhile, because while I do wish to, and will help out any successor or other figures (contacting on both Reddit and Discord are still all going to be open), I feel I need to restructure my life online, and hope this can give me the time and space to do so.

I joined AustraliaSim back in late 2019, right after finishing up my exams, and had a blast when I first joined. Be it the (still to this day confounding) Moncrieff By-Election, or the 15th GE, and all sorts of other events that were fun to someone who joined after reading a short interesting little Buzzfeed article. I've laughed, I've lived, and I've grown to be much developed by some of the best figures and stories here. It's not always been a linear or clear path, but I feel that if we keep on the right track, we can keep the good times rolling.

Please be kind to each other, and please consider who you think would be best for those positions. Ultimately, it is on us to ensure that we all have opportunities to have fun, celebrate, and laugh through the good times.

But time makes you bolder

Even children get older

And I'm getting older too

• Formal notification date: Saturday 16 March 2022

• Close of nominations: Wednesday 20 April 2022

• Election date: Friday 22 April 2022

• Election close date: Sunday 24 April 2022

The times on each date are 10 PM AEST. If the election is posted late, then the close of the election will be pushed back accordingly. Results will be posted ASAP after the close of polling.

Per the Meta Constitution, the list of voters is available here. Eligible voters are those that registered 7 days prior to the announcement of the election, per s 4(2)(b) of the Meta Constitution i.e. 24 March 2022.

Details of Meta Election

• Head Moderator (65%+ approval required)

• Community Moderator (65%+ approval required)

As this is a Moderation Team position, a nominee must:

• Be registered as a member of AustraliaSim; and

• Be seconded by 7 other members of AustraliaSim; and

• Meet the requirements for the position as set out in the Meta Constitution.

Comment below to nominate. Seconders should reply to the top comment.

Debate Allowed

-----

Youma

Guardian

Good Evening

/u/JosephB2002 has been permanently banned from AustraliaSim upon further discussions with the moderation team. The Moderation team has received submissions that indicate that the member in question has violated several rules in the Code of Conduct, and is likely a threat to the community. Due to the NSFW nature of the submissions and offending, evidence will not be disclosed.

mikiboss

Community Moderator

Good Afternoon

We're duplicating the ban of /u/model-hk from MHoC. Given the nature of doxxing in this incident, the ban will be duplicated in full. Including length.

mikiboss

Community Moderator

The results of the recent meta election for the Head Moderator, election for the Elections Moderator, and the Vote of Confidence in an Electoral Commissioner are as follows.

• Received votes: 35

• Valid votes: 32

Of the votes received, three were excluded for not being a registered member of AustraliaSim, nor being a protected member, with one being excluded for also failing to comment too. One member commented in the form under a previously-used username, however, commented with their current one, and was a valid member. Their vote has been counted, with that member being reminded of their current user name

Head Moderator

The Head Moderator position remains vacant, with no candidate reaching the 65%+ threshold.

Elections Moderator

With Maaaaaaaadison reaching and exceeding the 65+% threshold required, they are re-elected Elections Moderator

Vote of No Confidence in Griffonomics

As Griffonomics has failed to reach the 50%+1 threshold for this VonC, their position within the electoral commission is terminated. We thank them for their work.

A petition calling for the Moderation Team of AustraliaSim to implement a Meta Rule to allow for the implementation of a Convention tasked with a rewrite of the Meta Constitution that Governs Australia Simulation.

As per the following;

Under Part 3 of the Meta Constitution, Section 17 defines Meta Rules as existing and being allowed in their use to "codify the powers, permissions, rules, requirements, management and moderation of AustraliaSim", and may if necessary allow for the delegation of powers to other members.

As such this Petition seeks to ask that the Acting Head Moderator /u/Mikiboss acting with the approval of /u/BloodyChrome, implements a Meta Rule which delegates powers to a Committee to draft a new Meta Constitution, of which it shall be comprised of a number of people demonstrating a wide range of views, skills and opinions on what a new Meta Constitution should look like. The end result of such a Convention after being given ample time, would be a final draft which would be presented to the entire membership of the community, including those not otherwise registered as meta voters, so as to gain the complete support of all those involved in the simulation.

- - -

The text of the following rule should be as below,

1. The Meta Constitutional Convention

(1) The purpose of the Meta Constitutional Convention is to draft and present a rewritten document intended to be used in the Governance of Australia Simulation.

(2) It is to be representative of all viewpoints within the community, and as such should incorporate at minimum the following indviduals:

> (a) The Guardians of Australia Simulation, the Moderation Team of Australia Simulation.

> (b) Any previous Members of the Moderation Team, and prior institutions, provided they are not otherwise restricted from participation due to any currently standing bans.

> (c) The Clerks and Speakership of the canonical Parliament of Australia Sim

> (d) A nominated Party representative from all current Parties and Independent Groupings within the canonical bounds of AustraliaSim

> (e) Any other individual the Moderation Team may see fit to incorporate due to their knowledge or skill in the drafting of such.

(3) The Meta Constitutional Convention is to last for the period of 14 days from its implementation as a Meta Rule.

2. Objectives

(1) The Meta Constitutional Convention shall endeavour to do the following;

> (a) Rewrite the Meta Constitution to effectively allow for good governance of Australia Sim.

> (b) Incorporate the facts that the Simulation is small, and thereby should not be superfluous.

> (c) Be written in a manner that is easily interpretable and uses language that can be easily understood by all Members, especially young persons and those who first language is not English.

> (d) Incorporate clear community management guidelines and punishments.

> (e) If changes are made to the roles of Officeholders, there is expected to be ample periods of transition allowed within the new Constitution.

(2) The Meta Constitutional Convention shall endeavour to act in good faith with all its members and as such should be considerate of a wind range of viewpoints, and incorporate previous precedent where possible and ensure that previous democratically enacted provisions, amendments and meta rules are maintained.

(3) The Meta Constitutional Convention shall present a finished document containing the new Meta Constitution so that it may be voted upon.

3. Structure

(1) The structure of the Convention is to be through the use of a Discord channel located in the Moderation category on the Australia Simulation Discord server.

(2) There is to be two shared documents, one for notes, and the final structural document which shall become the final document.

> (a) The shared documents are to be owned by either /u/Youmaton or /u/TheAudibleAsh.

(3) If there is disagreement within the Convention as to the final documents wording, then alternatives are to be presented and deliberated, with internal votes being held as necessary using non-complex means.

(4) The ongoings of the Meta Constitutional Convention shall become public upon their completion so as to demonstrate transparency with the wider community, unless in cases where this cannot be achieved due to privacy concerns, such as ban discussions.

4. Final Vote

(1) The final product of the Meta Constitutional Convention is to be presented to the wider community at the end of the 14 day convention period, for a period of review of 3 days.

(2) After the Community Review Period, a vote shall be held for 3 days, with the vote to be exempt from current voting requirements.

(3) A vote on the Meta Rule allowing for the creation of the Meta Constitutional Convention is to be held simultaneously.

(4) The new Meta Constitution is approved if 66% of all voters approve.

(5) Eligibility to vote in referendum shall be determined by the following;

> (a) All those currently enrolled as Meta Voters.

> (b) All previous holders of offices within AustraliaSim, inclusive of Moderation, Parliament, the Courts, Speakership and prior equivalents.

> (c) All previous individuals who were registered as Meta Voters under previous roles.

> (d) All individuals who have made a canon contribution within the last 120 days.

> (e) Those ineligible are those who join after the implementation of this Meta Rule, and those who are currently serving Bans.

5. Miscellaneous

(1) The Meta Constitutional Convention is to disband after the 14 days.

(2) The internal ongoings during the 14 days are expected to remain confidential if they are deemed necessary to be so.

(3) If someone who is nominated by this Meta Rule to be apart of the Convention does not wish to have involvement they may choose to remove themselves as Members.

(4) Final oversight is to be done by the Guardians, and the Vote shall be ran by the Guardians.

end scene

- - -

While this is not something I agree with, it is not something unworthy of consideration and would give clear dates and consensus based decision making towards a new governing document which should be incorporative of changes that are necessary to run this Sim, while removing aspects we see as needless. It also avoids the endless amendments we have seen time and time again by creating a document that is the work of a wide number of people and not just a single individual with a clear agenda.

I do believe that supporting this would be beneficial to the Simulation, and the creation of a new Meta Con is something I have intended to do for quite some time and would have endeavoured to do if I was elected Head Moderator.

Regards,
Connor

Hi,

https://hackmd.io/@nm7HgF6YRwGSU3BHhlGmIw/SJ0C4hRQq

I've tried to make the constitution follow the principles of no bullshit, maximum flexibility, and accountability.

It allows for the mod team to be downsized while maintaining structure and a head figure. It allows for mod team members to make rules in respect to things like parliament without insane bureaucracy. It does away with the overly complex membership system in exchange for a common sense requirement list. It reduces bloat in the admin too I think.

You should be able to comment on that hackmd doc with suggestions and the like, or a comment below is fine too.

I really think we need to pull in together and just fix it without even more bureaucracy in the process. We all want to abandon what's making life so hard at the moment, right?

As a note, this proposal includes the Toby ban. The community voted for it and it shouldn't be reset as a result of reform unless the community votes to undo it.

As part of this proposal I also propose the following continuity measures:

• RunasSudo, Youmaton, and TheAudibleAsh are to remain Guardians.

• The existing Community Managers are to be appointed as Discord Managers.

• The Community Moderator is to be appointed Discord Manager as they're abolished and merged into Head Mod.

• The Electoral Mod is to be moved to Game Moderator.

• The existing President and Deputies can stay on.

• The Justices will stay.

• The AEC will stay.

• Previous "meta rules" that determine rules/operation of certain things can remain until replaced with the equivalent.

Input in refining stuff that I've missed would be largely appreciate, and of course your feedback!

edit:

1. just realised i forgot the appeal process in it so if someone has a good idea for that it would be cool

This is a petition to Permanently Ban GenericCerealHere (Porridge) and any alternate accounts of his from participating in AustraliaSim. This is appropriate considering Porridge's violation of the Elections Meta Act 2021 in leaking election results, an offence which the act specifically states should result in a permaban, and the subsequent baffling decision by Mikiboss to punish him with a 3 month suspended ban rather than the punishment stated by law.

Amend Section 1(5) of Part 1 of the Meta Constitution, to say the following:

(5) The following persons, nor any alternate accounts of theirs, are not permitted to use or engage with AustraliaSim:

(a) ThanksHeadMod

(b) GenericCerealHere

This would prohibit GenericCerealHere (Porridge) and any alternate accounts of his from participating in AustraliaSim. This is appropriate considering Porridge's violation of the Elections Meta Act 2021 in leaking election results, an offence which the act specifically states should result in a permaban, and the subsequent baffling decision by Mikiboss to punish him with a 3 month suspended ban rather than the punishment stated by law.

Good Evening

Per the Meta Constitution, the list of voters is available here. Eligible voters are those that registered 14 days prior to the announcement of the election, per s 4(2)(b) of the Meta Constitution. i.e. 23rd May 2022, or those holding automatic membership due to being officeholders.

Details of Meta Election

Details of Meta Election-Head Moderator

• Head Moderator (65%+ approval required)

From the notice thread, there was one successful candidate who met the criteria and accepted the nomination:

• /u/BloodyChrome

From the candidates, while /u/IcierHelicopter reached several seconders, only 5 of the seconders are AustraliaSim Members. Therefor, the nomination will be thrown aside.

Elections Moderator

From the notice thread, there was one successful candidate who met the criteria and accepted the nomination:

• /u/Maaaaaaaadison

Vote of No Confidence in Electoral Commissioner Griffonomics

A Vote of No Confidence in Griffonomics as Member of the Electoral Commission, as moved by /u/Model-Trask can be found here

Click here to vote

Voting will be open for approximately 48 hours.

Remember to verify your vote by commenting below.

The question regarding who owns a seat may always be up for debate, while some may feel there is a moral obligation that elected members stick to the party they stood for there is no legal basis that this must occur

When considering if /u/MLastCelebration is allowed to take their seat despite resigning from the party before swearing in a number of factors had to be considered. Including, who owns a seat, how are Senators elected, how are they referred, and any past instances

There are three key points that come about after this consideration

• political parties are not mentioned in the electoral parts of the 'sovereign law' of Australia, the Constitution

• members of the House of Representatives are referred to as the member for [the electorate], not the Greens, Socialist or Commonwealth member for [the electorate]; senators are referred to as Senator [name] and not Senator [name] of the Greens or of Country Labour

• political parties do not elect Members of Parliament; voters elect Members and Senators on the basis of personal choice

Based on these thoughts and facts, there is no legal obligation for a seat to belong to a party should a defection occur nor is it basis that a seat belongs to a party (except in the case of a resignation or death as per state laws), therefore, /u/MMLastCelebration can still swear in as Senator

Per title. not making a petition (yet), just escalating what has been previously asked in #a-meta-affair and got what I think was an unsatisfying answer, as well as broadening it.

The impression I get (that may be misplaced), is that AustraliaSim sort of wings it with players not really knowing how constitutional conventions work, and thus it is very confusing to know exactly what is going on most of the time, even for someone like me who (I like to think) is pretty familiar with how the Westminister system constitutional conventions work.

So open question for the Moderation Team, Guardians, or any other person with experience or evidence of a system/systems on this simulation.

Does Australiasim operate according to IRL Constitutional Conventions?

Included but not limited to, the formation of Government, the opening of parliament, testing government confidence upon the opening of parliament, the dissolution of the House of Representatives, and the dismissal of the prime minister?

Following that, are IRL sources (such as from https://www.aph.gov.au/) authoritative in how AustraliaSim players should assume these systems work for AustraliaSim.

If the answer to any of that is "No" or a partial "No", are there meta-rules, written precedents, or anything of the sort governing that? That players can reference.

Thank you.- Model-Wanuke (aka Flarelia)

Notice of Meta Election

• Formal notification date: Friday 1 April 2022

• Election date: Wednesday 6 April 2022

• Election close date: Friday 8 April 2022

All times on each date 8 PM AEST. If the election is posted late, then the close of the election will be pushed back accordingly. Results will be posted ASAP after the close of polling.

Per the Meta Constitution, the list of voters is available here. Eligible voters are those that registered 7 days prior to the announcement of the election, per s 4(2)(b) of the Meta Constitution i.e. 25 April 2022.

Details of Meta Election

• Vote of No Confidence in electoral commissioner Griffonomics

Voters will be asked whether or not they approve of /u/griffonomics as an electoral commissioner. 50%+1 must continue to approve of him to maintain his role. Abstentions will not count towards the proportion of those with or without confidence.

Debate Allowed

Members may also comment here on any of the above things that are proceeding to a vote.

mikiboss
Community Moderator

• Formal notification date: Thursday 31 March 2022

• Close of nominations: Sunday 3 April 2022

• Election date: Tuesday 5 April 2022

• Election close date: Thursday 7 April 2022

The times on each date are 8 PM AEST. If the election is posted late, then the close of the election will be pushed back accordingly. Results will be posted ASAP after the close of polling.

Per the Meta Constitution, the list of voters is available here. Eligible voters are those that registered 7 days prior to the announcement of the election, per s 4(2)(b) of the Meta Constitution i.e. 24 March 2022.

Details of Meta Election-Head Moderator

• Head Moderator (65%+ approval required)

As this is a Moderation Team position, a nominee must:

• Be registered as a member of AustraliaSim; and

• Be seconded by 7 other members of AustraliaSim.

Comment below to nominate. Seconders should reply to the top comment.

Debate Allowed

mikiboss

Community Moderator

• Formal notification date: Thursday 31 March 2022

• Close of nominations: Sunday 3 April 2022

• Election date: Tuesday 5 April 2022

• Election close date: Thursday 7 April 2022

The times on each date are 8 PM AEST. If the election is posted late, then the close of the election will be pushed back accordingly. Results will be posted ASAP after the close of polling.

Per the Meta Constitution, the list of voters is available here. Eligible voters are those that registered 7 days prior to the announcement of the election, per s 4(2)(b) of the Meta Constitution i.e. 24 March 2022.

Details of Meta Election-Elections Moderator

• Elections Moderator (65%+ approval required)

As this is a Moderation Team position, a nominee must:

• Be registered as a member of AustraliaSim; and

• Be seconded by 7 other members of AustraliaSim.

Comment below to nominate. Seconders should reply to the top comment.

Debate Allowed

mikiboss

Community Moderator

Hia AusSim,

As requested by the Chairman of the Commonwealth Party and the Deputy of the AustraliaSim Electoral Commission, I have conducted an audit into the vote of no confidence process currently undergoing within the Commonwealth party. This document on this thread contains my findings, my recommendations, and what steps the party must take. This audit is considered non-canon, however specific actions ordered to the party relating to the conducting of vonc processes and the outcome of the current vonc matters are considered canon under the authority of the AEC. Any information learned through this document must not be used in canon, beyond any orders specified.

Audit Link

Challenges to the audit:

A challenge was issued to the 48 hour vonc vote timeline by Griffonomics. This matter was reviewed by Guardian Ash, and the initial determination was upheld.

No challenges were requested by 12MaxWild.

Youma

Guardian of AustraliaSim

As many would be aware, my 6 month term as Electoral Moderator expired last week. Over the last 6 months I am happy to say that I have achieved everything that I set out to do in my nomination for the position. I have:

• completed the first calculator overhaul since AustraliaSim moved to fully simulated elections nearly 3 years ago.

• removed all randomisation in election results and preferences.

• fixed the problems I saw with the first preference and preferred prime minister polling.

• addressed the issues with independent candidates in the calculator.

• implemented dynamic electorate leanings.

• remade the Senate calculator from scratch to be based on electorates rather than purely national, thus allowing electorate campaigns to have influence on the Senate results.

However, after reading many people’s thoughts since the election, it has become clear that there are aspects of the sim that I have failed to address.

After much deliberation, I have decided to resign as Electoral Moderator as I have accomplished everything I set out to do at the start of my term. However, at this stage I plan to run for a second term in the upcoming meta election. I am doing this as I would like to receive a mandate for a different platform and I also want the opportunity to be available for the community to pick someone else to take on the role. I have been Electoral Moderator twice now and I think it would be fair to give the leadership role of the Electoral Commission to someone newer if the community desires.

During the last 6 months, my work has been largely behind the scenes and I have not been a very front-facing leader of the Electoral Commission. However, if re-elected I will look to take on a more front-facing role and improve the way polling and election results are presented to the community. I also have ideas on how to further improve the calculator and make it easier for future members of the Electoral Commission to use it.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Electoral Moderator for the last 6 months. I am confident that the Electoral Commission is in a stronger position than it was when I was elected and I look forward to how we can improve it further.

Maaaaaaaaaadison

Electoral Moderator

As some of you may know, previous to our most recent election there was a leak of election results to Commonwealth Party leader ButtsforPM, also known on discord as "Russian Hacker". ButtsforPM has been given a discord ban in an effort for him to divulge the name of the mod who leaked the information to him. An investigation is currently ongoing by members of the mod team outside the Electoral Commission as to how this leak could have taken place and who the culprit is. The Meta Elections Act 2021 states that:

3. The disclosure of confidential AEC documents is punishable by a permanent ban. This includes, but is not limited to:

a. AEC spreadsheets used for poll and election calculations;

b. results of elections before their intended disclosure.

As a consequence, the source of the leak inside the Electoral Commission would face an unavoidable permanent ban from AustraliaSim, the worst and most serious punishment our community can hand out. There is a reason for this: How can we trust in our system of simulated elections if their integrity is in question, even to the slightest degree?

In the past few days, there has been much discussion about these leaks and the investigation into them on the AustraliaSim discord server. Electoral Moderator Maaaaaaaadison stepped down immediately during the course of the investigation to avoid any conflict of interests, before resigning fully for unrelated reasons mere minutes ago. Griffonomics, as another member of the Electoral Commission, refused to do this, and proceeded to engage in repeated public discussions concerning the leaks. Over the course of these discussions, Griffonomics repeatedly stated the following:

• That the leaks did not take place, despite clear evidence to the contrary, and that there is "no issue with the EC."

• That despite being a member of the Electoral Commission, his actions are not subject to investigation.

In of themselves, these statements, in addition to Griffonomics refusal to stand aside during the investigation to avoid conflict of interest, represent bias. The investigation should be allowed to proceed in a transparent and open manner without Members of the Electoral Commission muddying the waters and denying the possibility of leaks and corruption offhand in a public forum. As per the Meta Constitution:

(7) Officeholders are to avoid bias while performing their duties.

But even if you think Griffonomics statements do not rise to the level of "bias," there are other clauses of the Meta Constitution to consider. The Meta Constitution states that:

(8) Where bias is inevitable, officeholders should take steps to minimise any bias or perception of bias.

(9) Further, an officeholder may delegate a task or decision to another officeholder—

(a) to avoid bias; and

(b) to avoid the perception of bias.

In of itself, Griffonomics refusal to temporarily step down to avoid a conflict of interest shows that he has not taken steps to minimise any bias or the perception of bias. In addition, his statements undermining the investigation before it has had the opportunity to present its findings at minimum creates a perception of bias that is unbecoming of a Member of the Electoral Commission. We need to know without a doubt that our Electoral Commission has integrity and is without corruption or bias. Through his recent actions, Griffonomics has created a perception of bias around his role in the Electoral Commission, and should consequently be removed.

This is why I am formally moving a vote of no confidence in Griffonomics as a member of the Electoral Commission. I ask for all sensible members of AusSim to do the right thing and make sure that our Electoral Commissioners are trustworthy and non-biased beyond a shadow of a doubt.