The Liberal Democrats

Australia is in peril. Typically when a nation faces a grave challenge it is because of international
tension or an economic slump. The national trial we face is caused by a failure of political
leadership. Our state and federal leaders from both major parties have proven themselves inept.

We will overcome this challenge and do so with strength, but we need real leadership.

Australia had the world’s fastest growing economy in the 20th century. Over the past decade
however the major parties have abandoned the economic principles which delivered so much
success. They still talk about low taxes and balanced budgets but in practice have become
reform sloths.

Their extraordinary over-reaction to COVID has only magnified our accumulating economic
woes. In the name of ‘zero-COVID’ we have doubled an already dangerously high
commonwealth debt. Misplaced COVID hysteria has violated what many assumed were
inviolable civil liberties. When citizens fear the police more than the virus, we have a crisis. We
are now internationally infamous for going further down this dark COVID path than any other
nation.

Australian federal politics needs a radical jolt.

The Liberal Democrats have advocated for citizen-trusting, freedom-loving and small
government policies since 2001. We aim to cultivate a society of peace and prosperity based on
individual freedom, personal responsibility, private property rights and voluntary association.
This Freedom Manifesto outlines our priorities for the coming federal election.

“Government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem.” Ronald Reagan
20 January 1981

Low Taxes. Small Government. Individual Responsibility.

Fighting for less government and more freedom

The Government is comprised of politicians and public servants with no special insight or
wisdom. Despite that, it constantly tells us what is best for us and how to run our lives. It ties up
businesses in red tape - preventing them from investing, expanding and employing.

The Liberal Democrats believe governments have neither the expertise, nor the rights to tell
people how to run their lives. People should be free to make their own choices and accept
responsibility for the consequences, so long as nobody else is harmed.

The Liberal Democrats are, first and foremost, a party for people. We hold as our highest aim
the creation of a society that is concerned with the advancement of human flourishing. Any
course of action that inhibits or constrains human flourishing must be held as antithetical to our
cause. The snake-oil salesmen who talk of freedom but seek only to advance their own power
must be exposed for the frauds they are. It is liberty, the freedom to follow one’s own natural
inclinations, that provides for the greatest degree of human flourishing.

An extract from the manifesto by former National President Gabriel Buckley.

Liberal Democrats
Dispose of Fines for Single-Use Plastics, Say LibDems

The ban on single-use plastic items with threats of fines is best replaced with an education
program and finding biodegradable alternatives to plastic, say the Liberal Democrats. Proposed
laws in New South Wales that impose fines on small businesses and residents using plastic
bags,...

Liberal Democrats
End 'Big Brother-Style Spying' and Digital ID for Private Citizens

Most Australians don’t know they are being constantly spied on by their governments and this
must stop, say pro-freedom party the Liberal Democrats. Now the government wants to roll out
digital ID for everyone, but this is a privacy disaster waiting to happen. Liberal...

Liberal Democrats
Disarm the Police on Victimless Crimes, LibDems Say

Over-policing of ordinary citizens has turned innocent actions of individuals into crimes, even if
no other person is involved. The Liberal Democrats believe that criminal law should be limited to
behaviours that harm others. Liberal Democrats NSW President, Dean McCrae, says
criminalising ordinary activities...