Libertarian Party
AbbreviationLP, Lib Dems
PresidentJohn Humphreys[1]
FounderJohn Humphreys[2]
Founded2001 (2001)
Registered2007–2022[3][4]
HeadquartersMount Waverley, Melbourne, Victoria
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing[11]
International affiliationInternational Alliance of Libertarian Parties
Colours  Yellow
House of Representatives
0 / 151
Senate
0 / 76
Victorian Legislative Council
1 / 40
New South Wales Legislative Council
1 / 42
Surf Coast Shire
1 / 9
Wodonga City Council
1 / 7
Website
www.ldp.org.au
Party logo used briefly between 2021 and 2022

The Libertarian Party, formerly known as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is an Australian political party founded in Canberra in 2001. The party espouses smaller government and supports policies that are based on classical liberal, libertarian principles,[12] such as lower taxes, opposing restrictions on civil liberties, decentralisation, utilising nuclear energy, and the relaxation of smoking laws.[13]

The party is registered in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia and was formerly registered for federal elections with the Australian Electoral Commission.[14]

History

Formation

The Liberal Democratic Party was founded in 2001 as a political party registered in the Australian Capital Territory. It first contested elections in the 2001 ACT election, receiving 1 percent of the vote.[15] The party also contested the 2004 ACT election, receiving 1.3 percent of the vote.[16]

In 2006, changes to the Electoral Act by the Howard government forced all parties without parliamentary representation to deregister and re-register under stricter naming rules.[17] Advised by the Australian Electoral Commission that federal registration under the original name was uncertain given opposition by the Liberal Party of Australia, the party chose to register federally as the Liberty and Democracy Party in 2007.[18] The Liberty and Democracy Party contested 2007 federal election, winning 17,048 votes (0.14 percent) in the lower house and 16,942 votes (0.13 percent) in the upper house.

In 2008, the party successfully applied to the Australian Electoral Commission to change its federally registered name to Liberal Democratic Party.[19] During this period, the party remained registered under its original name in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).[20]

Initial electoral contests

In 2010, the party contested the 2010 federal election, receiving 1.8 percent of the national senate vote[21] and an average of 1.3 percent across the 21 lower house seats it contested, with a best of 5.52 percent in Gippsland.

In 2012, the Liberal Democratic Party had its first successful election win. Jeff Pettett was elected as a Councillor to the Ku-ring-gai Council in northern metropolitan Sydney at the New South Wales local government elections, gaining 24 per cent of vote in the absence of Liberal Party candidates.[22] Clinton Mead was elected as a Councillor to the Campbelltown Council in southern metropolitan Sydney at the New South Wales local government elections

Prior to the 2012 Ramsay and Port Adelaide state by-elections in South Australia, the polls in The Advertiser newspaper gave the LDP 23 percent and 14 percent of the vote respectively in the absence of Liberal Party candidates. The LDP ended up with votes of 13.3 percent and 7.3 percent respectively. The paper described the LDP as "a hardline liberal party that demands abolition of government welfare as well as the minimum wage, seatbelts and bike helmets. It backs legalisation of marijuana and increased freedom to access pornography".[23]

At the 2013 federal election, LDP candidate David Leyonhjelm was elected to the Senate after polling the third highest vote in the state of New South Wales after the Liberal Party of Australia and the Australian Labor Party.[24] According to Leyonhjelm, a portion of their vote probably came from their 'first position' on the long senate ballot paper and voters potentially being confused with his party and other contesting parties such as the Liberals, the Australian Democrats and the Christian Democratic Party.[25] However, Leyonhjelm points to the fact that the Liberal Democrats' vote in South Australia, where they were fifth on the ballot, rose 3 percentage points. He also points to the fact that the donkey vote generally only produces swings of +1 or 2 percentage points to the party listed first on the ballot.[26] Leyonhjelm organised preferences for several different, but closely entwined, political parties seeking election to the Senate, including the Outdoor Recreation Party, Smokers' Rights Party and the Republican Party of Australia.[27] Australian Sex Party candidate Fiona Patten alleged Leyonhjelm intentionally failed to lodge ticket voting preferences forms, reneging on a preference deal,[28] but Leyonhjelm claimed that there was a mistake entering the AEC fax number.[29] The Liberal Democrats were not involved in Glenn Druery's Minor Party Alliance during the election which assisted in negotiating preference flows between minor parties.[30] On 1 July 2014, David Leyonhjelm became the Liberal Democratic Party's first senator.

Shortly after David Leyonhjelm's Senate victory, Liberal Democrats councillor Clinton Mead was elected Mayor of the City of Campbelltown in New South Wales.[31]

In 2015, the Liberal Democrats registered with the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), and announced it would field upper-house candidates in the upcoming Victorian state election on 29 November 2014.[32] In 2016, the Liberal Party sought to challenge the name of the party with the electoral commission, but ultimately abandoned the action.[33]

David Leyonhjelm was re-elected with a 3.1 percent (−6.4) primary vote, or 139,000 votes, at the 2016 double dissolution federal election.[34] Gabriel Buckley, the LDP's lead candidate in Queensland, marginally misses out on a seat.[35]

WA elections were held 11 March 2017, where the states first LDP member, Aaron Stonehouse, was elected.[31]

In May 2017, former Leader of the Opposition and political commentator Mark Latham left the Australian Labor Party and joined the LDP.[36]

In 2018, candidates Tim Quilty and David Limbrick were elected to the Victorian Legislative Council (state upper house). In the same year, Mark Latham left the party to become the leader of One Nation NSW division.[37]

In 2019, David Leyonhjelm announced that he will be quitting federal parliament in order to contest the New South Wales state election.[38] This resulted in Duncan Spender being sworn in to fill Leyonhjelm's former seat until the next Federal election.[39] David Leyonhjelm did not get elected in the 2019 New South Wales election, securing only 0.46 of a seat quota.[40] Duncan Spender also lost their Senate seat in the 2019 election.

In the Victorian Local Government election of 2020, the party fielded 11 candidates state-wide. Two endorsed candidates were elected, Olga Quilty in Wodonga with a 5.83% first preference vote against 18 other candidates and Paul Barker in Torquay with a 11.67% first preference vote against 9 other candidates.

Recent developments

On 18 May 2017, the Liberal Democratic Party formed a 'conservative bloc' with One Nation and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party in the Western Australia Legislative Council.[5]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Victorian MPs Quilty and Limbrick became outspoken critics of the Victorian Parliament, the Federal Parliament, and Australia's COVID response in whole. On August 17, 2021, while the Victorian Parliament was closed due to restrictions, the two protested park closures on the steps of Parliament in the presence of armed police.[41] They refused to comply with a vaccine mandate for MP's, with Limbrick publicly destroying his vaccination status card.[42]

In July 2021, Campbell Newman, the former Premier of Queensland and Leader of the Liberal National Party of Queensland, resigned from the LNP, stating the LNP candidate in the 2021 Stretton state by-election was "let down by a party and leadership that never stands up for anything".[43] In August 2021, he announced he had joined the LDP to run as the party's lead Senate candidate in Queensland at the 2022 Australian federal election.

On 16 October 2021, Quilty, Limbrick, and other opposition MPs were ejected from Victorian Parliament for refusing to disclose their vaccination status.[44][45] After two weeks of exclusion, the MP's submitted their vaccination status on October 28, 2021, in order to return to parliament to oppose the legislative agenda of the government.[46]

On 23 November 2021, the LDP announced a preference deal with the United Australia Party in the upcoming Australian elections where each party would encourage its members to choose the other as their second preference.[47]

On 24 November 2021, Krystle Mitchell − an acting Senior Sergeant of Victoria Police who resigned after speaking publicly against enforcing health orders − announced she would be running for the Senate with the LDP as the second candidate on their ticket in Victoria.[48][49]

On 8 April 2022, Senator Sam McMahon joined the party after defecting from the Country Liberal Party in January.[50] This gave the federal parliamentary representation to the Liberal Democratic Party. McMahon would also be the lead Senate candidate for the party at the May federal election. She was unsuccessful in her election and the party lost parliamentary representation. AEC's consideration to deregister the party continued after the writs for the election were returned in June, and the party was deregistered at the federal level on 19 July 2022.[14]

Name change

Election poster using the new party name and logo for the first time at the 2023 Mulgrave state by-election

Due to changes in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and a subsequent objection to the party's name by the Liberal Party, the Liberal Democratic Party applied to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to change its name to the Liberty and Democracy Party in February 2022 in order to remain registered.[51][52] The party then withdrew the name change application on 22 March 2022.[53] On 1 April 2022, the AEC gave notice to the party that it would consider deregistering the latter, giving one month for the party to appeal the notice.[54] However, as the writs for the May federal election were issued the following week on 11 April, the party register then would be "frozen" and this meant the party was allowed to contest the election with its current name.[55]

In May 2023, LDP members voted on a new name for the party.[56][57] The logo of the party bears the acronym of the new name "LP".

The Victorian Electoral Commission received an application from the party about a name change in June 2023.[58] On 16 July 2023, all state party branches, with the exception of New South Wales, formally changed their names to the Libertarian Party.[59] In October 2023, the party has also applied for party registration federally with the AEC.[60]

The party contested under the new name for the first time at the Mulgrave state by-election in Victoria in November 2023.[61][62]

Policies and political positions

The LDP states that it adheres to classical liberal, small government and laissez-faire principles coupled with what the party considers as a high regard for individual freedom and individual responsibility.[63] LDP supported policies include:[64][65][66]

National Policy

Current and past policies and views

Election results

Federal parliament

Senate
Election year No. of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 No. of
overall seats won		 No. of
overall seats		 +/–
2007 16,942 0.13
0 / 40
0 / 76
 —
2010 230,191 1.81
0 / 40
0 / 76
 Steady 0
2013 523,831 3.91
1 / 40
1 / 76
 Increase 1
2016 298,915 2.16
1 / 76
1 / 76
 Steady 0
2019 169,735 1.16
0 / 40
0 / 76
 Decrease 1
2022 340,132 2.26
0 / 40
0 / 76
 Decrease 1

State parliament

New South Wales

Legislative Council
Election year No. of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 No. of
overall seats		 +/–
2019 96,999 2.18
0 / 42
 —
2023 162,755 3.3
1 / 42
 Increase 1

South Australia

Legislative Council
Election year No. of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 No. of
overall seats		 +/–
2014 6,091 0.6%
0 / 22
 —
2018 25,956 2.47
0 / 22
 —
2022 36,445 3.35
0 / 22
 —

Victoria

Legislative Council
Election year No. of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 No. of
overall seats		 +/–
2014 104,516 3.06
0 / 40
2018 89,428 2.50
2 / 40
 Increase 2
2022 99,054 2.64
1 / 40
 Decrease 1

Western Australia

Legislative Council
Election year No. of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 No. of
overall seats		 +/–
2017 23,848 1.77
1 / 36
 Increase 1
2021 9,218 0.64
0 / 36
 Decrease 1

Elected representatives

Current

Victorian Legislative Council

New South Wales Legislative Council

Surf Coast Shire Council

  • Paul Barker (2020–present)

Wodonga City Council

  • Olga Quilty (2020–present)

Former

Senate

Victorian Legislative Council

Western Australia Legislative Council

Campbelltown City Council

  • Clinton Mead (2012–2016)

East Gippsland Shire Council

  • Ben Buckley (2012–2020)

North Sydney Council

  • Samuel Gunning (2017–2021)

Ku-ring-gai Council

  • Jeff Pettett (2012–2017)

Wodonga City Council

Donors

The Australia Institute's 2019 report found that the Liberal Democratic Party had received political donations of $37,311 from pro-gun groups between July 2011 and March 2019. The report contextualises their donations as similar in value to the Nationals, Labor and Country Alliance, whilst being less than those to Katter's Australia Party, the Shooters Party, and the Liberal Party.[87][88]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hinchliffe, Joe; Paul, Karp (1 May 2022). "LNP preferences could be 'deciding factor' for One Nation in Queensland". Guardian Australia.
  2. ↑ Ruddick, John (31 August 2021). "How can anyone own the word 'liberal'?". spectator.com.au. The Spectator Australia.
  3. ↑ "Party registration decision: Liberty and Democracy Party". aec.gov.au. Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). 4 January 2011.
  4. ↑ "Notice of deregistration: Liberal Democratic Party" (PDF). aec.gov.au. Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). 19 July 2022.
  5. 1 2 Kagi, Jacob; Strutt, Jessica (18 May 2017). "WA politics: Upper House conservative bloc pledges to work with government". ABC News. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  6. ↑ Bertram, Dean (21 September 2013). "In praise of Australia's Liberal Democrats". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Potter, Ben (26 October 2013). "Libertarianism gets a loudspeaker in David Leyonhjelm". The Australian Financial Review (AFR). Archived from the original on 5 November 2018.
  8. ↑ "A Libertarian Primer For Future Leaders of Western Australia" (PDF). Mannkal Economic Education Foundation: 52. April 2014.
  9. ↑ Ruddick, John (9 October 2022). "A bold libertarian vision". spectator.com.au. The Spectator Australia. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  10. ↑ Kelly, Dominic (22 September 2021). "Australia's Right-Wing Libertarians Are Trying to Capitalize on Anti-Lockdown Sentiment". jacobin.com. Jacobin.
  11. ↑ Davies, Anne (27 July 2021). "Rightwing Australian politicians use Covid lockdowns to promote challenge to Liberal party". Guardian Australia.
  12. ↑ "LDP philosophy". Ldp.org.au. Archived from the original on 20 November 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  13. ↑ Carey, Adam (11 December 2018). "Party in the upper house: Who's who on new Victorian crossbench". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  14. 1 2 Reid, Joanne. "NOTICE OF DECISION ON PARTY REGISTRATION DEREGISTERING A POLITICAL PARTY AND REMOVAL FROM THE REGISTER OF POLITICAL PARTIES LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Notice of decision under s 137(6) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and Statement of Reasons" (PDF). AEC. Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  15. ↑ "2001 Election - First Preference Results". ACT Electoral Commission. 8 March 2005. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
  16. ↑ "2004 Election - First Preference Results". ACT Electoral Commission. 1 February 2005. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
  17. ↑ Stephen, Mayne (29 June 2006). "Minor parties deregistered by Howard electoral law changes". Crikey. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  18. ↑ Davis, Mark; Jensen, Erik (12 November 2007). "Lots of trash 'n' treasure in micro-party bazaar". The Sydney Morning Herald (First ed.). p. 18. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  19. ↑ Mitchell, Alex (10 February 2009). "Tax-hating gun-lovers register political party". Crikey. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  20. ↑ "Register of political parties". ACT Electoral Commission. 15 October 2007. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
  21. ↑ "First Preferences by Party". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  22. ↑ Bauche, David (12 September 2012). "Malicki dominates the vote for her sixth term". Hornsby Advocate. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  23. ↑ Wills, Daniel (20 January 2012). "Female voters save Labor's seat". The Advertiser. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  24. ↑ Damien Murphy (9 September 2013). "Detours ahead as minor parties claim Senate balance". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  25. ↑ "NSW sends pro-gun Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm to Senate". Abc.net.au. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  26. ↑ "Liberals don't live up to their name, unlike the LDP". The Australian. 1 October 2013.
  27. ↑ Crook, Andrew (22 August 2013). "Revealed: the libertarian Right's micro-party links". crikey.com.au. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  28. ↑ Dunckley, Mathew (16 September 2013). "Faulty fax machine blamed in Sex Party spat over Senate seat". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  29. ↑ Swan, Jonathan (16 September 2013). "Sex Party points finger at minor rival over preference form bungle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  30. ↑ Dylan Welch (1 April 2014). "Senate voting inquiry prompted by Glenn Druery's election tactics could put end to preference trading" – ABC.net.au. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  31. 1 2 "New Mayors for Campbelltown and Camden".
  32. ↑ Rose, Danny (5 November 2014). "Lib Dems to stand candidates for Vic poll". The Australian. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  33. ↑ "Leyonhjelm wins 'Liberal' tag battle". Yahoo. 13 March 2016. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  34. ↑ "Senate Results - Australia Votes - Federal Election 2016". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  35. ↑ "One Nation claims four Senate seats". www.townsvillebulletin.com.au. 4 August 2016.
  36. ↑ "Mark Latham joins Liberal Democrats and sparks speculation of return to politics". The Guardian. 8 May 2017.
  37. ↑ "Mark Latham joins One Nation as NSW leader".
  38. ↑ Cockburn, Paige (7 January 2019). "David Leyonhjelm to quit federal politics and contest NSW election". ABC News. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  39. ↑ "New senator vows to make short week count". Manning River Times. 1 April 2019.
  40. ↑ Stewart, Selby; Coleman, Oscar (15 April 2019). "Leyonhjelm fails in NSW Upper House bid, Animal Justice Party claims seat". ABC News. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  41. ↑ 2-man protest by LibDems MPs outside the Victorian Parliament, retrieved 23 November 2021
  42. ↑ Limbrick cuts up vaccination card - LibDems stand against medical apartheid, retrieved 23 November 2021
  43. ↑ McKenna, Kate (26 July 2021). "Former Queensland premier Campbell Newman quits the Liberal National Party". ABC News. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  44. ↑ MPs kicked out of Parliament over vax status privacy! - Tim Quilty's speech, retrieved 23 November 2021
  45. ↑ MPs kicked out of Parliament over vax status privacy! - David Limbrick's speech, retrieved 23 November 2021
  46. ↑ "We've listened, we're going back in to fight" - Exiled MPs return to Parliament, retrieved 23 November 2021
  47. ↑ LibDems-UAP preference deal announced, retrieved 23 November 2021
  48. ↑ Woods, Emily (9 October 2021). "Vic cop quits over enforcing health orders". Northern Beaches Review. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  49. ↑ @LibDemAus (25 November 2021). "Krystle Mitchell is our #2 candidate for Victoria in the Senate. Catch her interview with @discernableco here:" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  50. ↑ "NT politician Sam McMahon joins ex-Queensland premier's party to run for re-election". ABC News. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  51. ↑ "Liberal Democrats lose High Court bid to keep party name". ABC News. 9 March 2022.
  52. ↑ "Register of Political Parties - Liberal Democratic Party" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  53. ↑ "Notice of Party Registration Decision - Application to Change the Register of Political Parties - Liberal Democratic Party" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. 1 April 2022.
  54. ↑ "Notice of intention to deregister - Liberal Democratic Party" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. 1 April 2022.
  55. ↑ "Loophole allows Liberal Democrats to Retain their Party Name". Antony Green's Election Blog. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  56. ↑ "Liberal Democrats face identity crisis over forced name change". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 April 2023.
  57. ↑ "Make schools businesses: Liberal Democrats MP on profit-motive education". 6 News Australia. 23 April 2023.
  58. ↑ "Application to change a registered political party's name". Victorian Electoral Commission.
  59. ↑ "You may have noticed some changes, and wondered what it was all about!". Twitter. Libertarian Party.
  60. ↑ "Notice of application for registration as a political party" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  61. ↑ Limbrick, David [@_davidlimbrick] (17 October 2023). "I'm proud to announce that Ethelyn King is the very first Libertarian Party candidate, running for the seat of Mulgrave" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 17 November 2023 – via Twitter.
  62. ↑ "Mulgrave District by-election results". Victorian Electoral Commission.
  63. ↑ "Principles". Liberal Democratic Party. Archived from the original on 18 July 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  64. ↑ "Policies". Liberal Democratic Party. Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  65. ↑ Kroehn, Chantelle; Adam Todd (14 November 2007). "'Local' candidates are anything but". Guardian Messenger (1 - FIRST ed.). p. 4.
  66. ↑ "Policies". Liberal Democratic Party. Archived from the original on 5 August 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  67. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Freedom Manifesto" (PDF). Liberal Democrats. 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  68. ↑ "Democracy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  69. ↑ "Budget". Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  70. 1 2 "Taxation". Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  71. 1 2 "Assisted Suicide". Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  72. ↑ "Drug Reform". Liberal Democratic Party. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  73. ↑ "Refusal to test pills 'stupid': Leyonhjelm". SBS News.
  74. ↑ "Welfare". Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  75. ↑ "Defence". Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  76. ↑ "Free Trade". Archived from the original on 13 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  77. ↑ "Energy". Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  78. ↑ "Immigration". Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  79. ↑ "Equality before the law". Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  80. 1 2 "Religion". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  81. ↑ "Lindt cafe hostages, like the rest of us, denied the practical right to self-defence". Smh.com.au. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  82. 1 2 "Competitive Federalism". Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  83. ↑ "Lifestyle Choices".
  84. ↑ "David Leyonhjelm voted moderately for regional processing of asylum seekers".
  85. ↑ Leyonhjelm, Former Senator David (23 August 2018). "Compulsory helmet laws are discriminatory". Medium.
  86. ↑ "Foreign Aid". Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  87. ↑ Knowles, Lorna (27 March 2019). "Gun lobby's 'concerted and secretive' bid to undermine Australian laws". ABC News. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  88. ↑ "Point blank: Political strategies of Australia's gun lobby". The Australia Institute. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
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