Liberal Democratic Party (Australia)

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.[6] The party also contested the 2004 ACT election, receiving 1.3 percent of the vote.[7]

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.[8] Advised by the Australian Electoral Commission that federal registration under the original name was uncertain given opposition by the Liberal Party of Australia and lacking the funding to appeal a likely negative finding, the party chose to register federally as the Liberty and Democracy Party in 2007.[9] 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.[10] During this period, the party remained registered under its original name in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).[11]

In 2010, the party contests 2010 federal election, receiving 1.8 percent of the national senate vote[12] 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.[13] 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".[14]

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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18] Australian Sex Party candidate Fiona Patten alleged Leyonhjelm intentionally failed to lodge ticket voting preferences forms, reneging on a preference deal,[19] but Leyonhjelm claimed that there was a mistake entering the AEC fax number.[20] 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.[21] 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.[22]

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.[23] In 2016, the Liberal Party sought to challenge the name of the party with the electoral commission, but ultimately abandoned the action.[24]

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.[25] Gabriel Buckley, the LDP's lead candidate in Queensland, marginally misses out on a seat.[26]

WA elections were held 11 March 2017 where the states first LDP member, Aaron Stonehouse was elected.[22]

In May 2017, former Leader of the Opposition and political commentator Mark Latham left the Australian Labor Party and joined the LDP.[27]

In candidates 2018 Tim Quilty and David Limbrick are 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.[28]

In 2019, David Leyonhjelm announced that he will be quitting federal parliament in order to contest the New South Wales state election.[29] This resulted in Duncan Spender being sworn in to fill Leyonhjelm's former seat until the next Federal election.[30] David Leyonhjelm did not get elected in the 2019 New South Wales election securing only 0.46 of a seat quota.[31] Duncan Spender also lost their Senate seat in the 2019 election.

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.[32] LDP supported policies include:[33][34][35][36]

• Federal budgets which are neither in surplus, nor deficit, but balanced[37]
• Ending political correctness and nanny state control (e.g. repealing the Sydney lockout laws)
• Supporting the implementation of pill testing.[38]
• Support of competitive federalism and political decentralisation
• Restore to the States the power to impose income taxes and other taxes currently reserved to the Commonwealth[39]
• Cease all Commonwealth involvement in health and education[39]
• Extensive reduction of taxes and fines, industrial relations regulations and government spending including welfare, health and the military, replacing most with a compulsory superannuation payment to fund social services and compulsory insurance cover for those whose balance does not meet a mandated minimum[40]
• Support for commercial off-the-shelf and military off-the-shelf defence acquisitions where possible[41]
• Support of extensive privatisation and deregulation: end government ownership of business enterprises including the ABC, SBS, Australia Post, government owned public schools, government owned public hospitals, electricity generation and public transport services
• Deregulate industry to the greatest extent possible to build its international competitiveness
• Support of a 20% flat rate income tax with a $40,000 tax free threshold[42]
• Support of extensive free markets and free trade[43]
• Support of the most efficient and effective electricity generation, with no options off the table[44]
• Support of market over government responses to climate change
• Opposition to industry subsidies including corporate welfare
• Support of citizen-initiated referenda, fixed parliamentary terms, recall elections and voluntary voting[45]
• Support the relaxation of foreign investment requirements and removal of restrictions against foreign ownership
• Call for reform to the anti-dumping legislation
• Opening up and removing the locking up of our state forests and national parks and proper management and conservation to prevent bushfires
• Support for increasing barriers for immigrants to acquire Australian citizenship
• Support for Pacific Solution of regional processing of asylum seekers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea[46]
• Maximisation of freedom of travel administered by a general immigration tariff on all non-humanitarian immigrants from other nations to replace the existing quota system[47]
• Support of free migration agreements with more nations such as the current Australia/New Zealand agreement
• Unauthorised arrivals temporarily detained for health and security checks, transparent process for determining refugee status, community release under bail-like conditions while status is determined
• Removal of sin taxes (including for alcohol and tobacco)[42]
• Marriage privatisation or getting the government out of the marriage business[48]
• Equality before the law, including opposition to affirmative action[49]
• Support of property owners' rights
• Support of motocross, cycling, fishing, bushwalking, hunting, logging, 4WD and shooting rights
• Repeal of all mandatory helmet laws for cyclists.[50]
• Support for acknowledging the contribution of Christianity to liberal democratic values[51]
• Opposition to government-mandated food labelling for religious purposes[51]
• Opposition to the introduction of laws for individual groups such as Sharia law or Aboriginal law[51]
• Ending the war on drugs - by legalisation of all drugs that are less harmful than both alcohol and tobacco (for example cannabis) and decriminalisation of all other drugs[52]
• Opposition to censorship
• Legalisation of assisted suicide[53]
• Abolition of coercive psychiatry
• Decriminalise the means to self defence (including pepper spray, tasers and firearms under some circumstances)[54][55]
• Opposition to government-funded foreign aid, other than short-term humanitarian relief, in favour of private charity[56]

A 2019 report has found that the Liberal Democratic Party has received political donations of over $37,000 from pro-gun groups during the 2011-2018 period.[57]

• List of political parties in Australia

• Official website