BobH
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As my display name suggests, I am a member of the LDP and a candidate in this election (House of Reps - Dickson). Over the past few days I've been engaging in some good discussions on this forum as a Liberal Democrat, and there's been some expression of interest in the party I stand for. So here is a quick summary of the Liberal Democratic Party and its main principles/policies. This thread is totally open to debate and any questions you may have.
Our name is perfect for us in that it best describes what we stand for. We stand for a liberal democracy. That is a democratic government with a very liberal approach to governing. So enforce basic rule of law (punish murderers, rapists, thieves and frauds) but leave the rest of us well enough alone. Instead of trying to manage our lives and our trade with one another, the government should stick to protecting us from attacks and enforcing basic rule of law, as I said. If the government only has to do a few things for us, they can do those things very well. When the government tries to do too much, they end up doing a poor job of everything.
We don't subscribe to the belief that an orderly society needs a group of elites to run everything so that chaos doesn't result from things being allowed to take their own course. We believe in the natural, spontaneous order of things. We often point to countries like Hong Kong, a place the British Empire didn't really care for, so aside from enforcing basic rule of law they pretty much just sat back and drank tea. As a result the people of Hong Kong started to do things for themselves and became productive and innovative. They transformed Hong Kong into one the most prosperous places in the world. The people did that by trading ideas, skills and work under one of the most free markets in the world.
So with that sort of philosophy guiding us, we have a number of policies which we think will make Australia a more free society with a more free market. A true liberal democracy. Here are some of as basic policies on some of the most commonly discussed issues in Australia:
The Liberal Democratic Party supports... - assisted suicide and euthanasia - voluntary voting and fixed parliamentary terms - same-sex marriage and adoption - the right to own firearms for sport, hunting, collecting and self-defence - the re-legalisation of marijuana for adults at home - market responses to climate change - private property rights and the privatisation of most public land - uncensored internet access - expanded immigration opportunities, with limited welfare and a raise in the requirements for citizenship - "free immigration agreements" with appropriate countries (like Japan, Singapore, Canada, Sweden etc.) like we have with New Zealand - relaxed traffic laws (this includes speed limits and blood/alcohol limits) - the rights of private property owners (this includes hotels and restaurants) to determine their own rules on smoking on their premises - land clearing decisions made by property owners, not government - privatisation of most government-owned forests - cultivation of GM crops, subject to safety screening - private ownership, breeding and trade of endangered species (including keeping native animals as pets) - abolishing government ownership and control of water, water recycling subsidies and water tank mandates - sustainable hunting of species such as crocodiles and kangaroos - removing subsidies on recycling - active management of national parks to control pests and bushfires and maintain accessibility to tax payers - significant tax cuts and welfare reform (see our 30/30 tax reform plan on our website) - relaxed industrial relation laws, including replacing the minimum wage with an income supplement from the government (also see our 30/30 tax reform plan on our website) - replacing all welfare payments with a negative income tax (again, that's covered in our 30/30 tax reform plan on our website) - free trade with any country that wants to trade with us - continue the privatisation trend of the recent coalition and labor governments, including ABC and SBS - deregulate the market with the end goal of a free market system
For detailed polices, see our website. www.ldp.org.au
If you have any questions, like why we think privatising the forests would help protect them or why allowing people to own, breed and trade endangered species would protect those species, then feel free to ask. I'm also more than happy to debate those policies with those of you who don't agree.
The Liberal Democratic Party is contesting most marginal seats in this election, as well as running candidates for the Senate in QLD, NSW, VIC, SA and WA. We are hoping to get a member seated in the Senate this election through preference deals. We are confident we can get a Senate seat with just a small percentage of the vote. So if you agree with our basic philosophy and if some of our policies appeal to you, please do vote 1 above the line for us on your Senate ballot. You don't have to agree with everything, our members don't agree on everything. Some are more liberal than others, some are less free-market than others. But all Liberal Democratic candidates sign a pledge that if elected to office they will not vote for any measure that increases the tax burden or decreased individual liberty. If that appeals to you, then help us get a Liberal Democrat in the Senate.
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