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Liberal Democratic Party (Read 24391 times)
BobH
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Liberal Democratic Party
Aug 1st, 2010 at 2:00pm
 
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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« Last Edit: Aug 10th, 2010 at 7:28pm by BobH »  
 
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skippy.
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #1 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 3:10pm
 
Quote:
We are hoping to get a member seated in the Senate this election through preference deals.


WITH WHO?
Who will you be preferencing in your seats?
Are you just another GREEN LIBERALS party like the one that stood at the last election but was just a Liberal party group trying to steal GREEN votes?
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BigOl64
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #2 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 3:22pm
 


Well the LDP are as close to my requirements as any party is going to get.

Might consider enrolling and voting at the next election, if you have a candidate in herbert.

Good to see a party that does not want to micro manage every aspect of our lives, turning Australia further into a buggered up nanny state like the greens, lib or labor.

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Equitist
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #3 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 3:31pm
 

Since you are a candidate, Bob, I'm glad that you've formally, albeit belatedly, introduced yourself!

Hmmnnn....I looked you up and am now wondering: why is it that you have provided so little information about yourself on your Party's web-site, and; where else can we learn the types of things about you and your past and present associations that the electorate has a right to know?

http://www.ldp.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1227&Itemid=5...

...

Quote:
Bob Hunter

Bob Hunter is a sound recordist/engineer in Brisbane where he has lived for the past two years. Born in Warwick, Bob grew up in Toowoomba where he was active in the cultural community as an instrumental music teacher and member of the Toowoomba Concert Band.

Bob was drawn to the Liberal Democrats by their opposition to the nanny state and government control.

"I was brought up being told Australia is a free country, and the Liberal Democratic Party is the only party committed to ensuring that", he says.

"I put my hand up to be a candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party because I don't want my generation to be the one that sees Australia slip into an overbearing nanny state and a police state."


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Lamenting the shift in the Australian psyche, away from the egalitarian ideal of the fair-go - and the rise of short-sighted pollies, who worship the 'Growth Fairy' and seek to divide and conquer!
 
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mellie
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #4 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 3:51pm
 
hahahah, luv it, this gave me a huge belly laugh.

And to the individuals who just got punked, a big long groaaans.

Smiley
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All together now Labor voters.......&&&&lap-tops, pink-bats refugees and Clunker-cars&&&&insurance.AES256
 
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longweekend58
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #5 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 4:21pm
 
LET ME ASSESS THE POLICIES

The Liberal Democratic Party supports...
- assisted suicide and euthanasia  WRONG
- voluntary voting and fixed parliamentary terms AGREE
- same-sex marriage and adoption PASSIONATELY OPPOSE
- the right to own firearms for sport, hunting, collecting and self-defence IT FIGURES. EVERY NUTJOB PARTY WANTS GUNS FOR 'SELF DEFENSE' WHICH TRANSLATES TO 'EVERYONE CAN HAVE GUNS'
- the re-legalisation of marijuana for adults at home DUMB - BUT PREDICTABLE
- market responses to climate change IS THERE AN ACTUAL POSITION IN THERE SOMEWHERE?
- private property rights and the privatisation of most public land DUMB. WE ALREADY HAVE PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS AND THIS WOULD ELIMINATE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO MOST OF THE COUNTRY
- uncensored internet access AGREE
- expanded immigration opportunities, with limited welfare and a raise in the requirements for citizenship NEED MORE DETAILS
- "free immigration agreements" with appropriate countries (like Japan, Singapore, Canada, Sweden etc.) like we have with New Zealand 'APPROPRIATE' IS THE KEY WORD AND MEANINGLESS IN THE ABSENCE OF RECIPROCITY WHICH WOULD NEVER HAPPEN.
- relaxed traffic laws (this includes speed limits and blood/alcohol limits) ARE YOU STUPID OR INSANE? (THEY ARE YOUR ONLY TWO OPTIONS)
- the rights of private property owners (this includes hotels and restaurants) to determine their own rules on smoking on their premises SO-SO
- land clearing decisions made by property owners, not government JUST AS EXTREME AS THE CURRENT REGIME BUT IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. DUMB.
- privatisation of most government-owned forests STUPIDER THAN MOST POLICIES IVE READ
- cultivation of GM crops, subject to safety screening MAYBE
- private ownership, breeding and trade of endangered species (including keeping native animals as pets) CANT SEE THE NEED OR THE POINT. IS THERE SOME DEMAND FOR THIS?
- abolishing government ownership and control of water, water recycling subsidies and water tank mandates THE STUPIDEST POLICY IN THE LIST. EVER HEARD OF THE DROUGHT? YOU SHOULD PROBABLY BE DISQUALIFIED ON THIS POLICY ALONE!
- sustainable hunting of species such as crocodiles and kangaroos BACK ON THE GUNS AGAIN i SEE
- removing subsidies on recycling ARE YOU THE 'ANTI-ENVIRONMENT' PARTY? DUMB!!
- active management of national parks to control pests and bushfires and maintain accessibility to tax payers IN CONTRAST TO YOUR PRIVATISATION POLICYT OF PARKS
- significant tax cuts and welfare reform (see our 30/30 tax reform plan on our website) NAIVE, GROSSLY UNFAIR AND IRRESPONSIBLE. AND THATS THE GOOD THINGS I CAN SAY.
- 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) BREATHTAKINGLY STUPID
- replacing all welfare payments with a negative income tax (again, that's covered in our 30/30 tax reform plan on our website) SEE ABOVE. BREATHTAKINGLY STUPID - PART 2
- free trade with any country that wants to trade with us AS LONG AS THEY HAVE FREE TRADE THEMSELVES? NO, OF COURSE NOT.
- 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 SO WE CAN EMULATE THE USA AND DESTROY OUR ECONOMY? ARE YOU STUPID BY BIRTH OR DID YOU TRAIN FOR IT?


IN SUMMARY...

YOU ARE AN IDIOT AND YOUR PARTY IS A DINOSAUR MAY YOU FAIL SO MISERABLY AS TO GET THE MESSAGE
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AUSSIE: "Speaking for myself, I could not care less about 298 human beings having their life snuffed out in a nano-second, or what impact that loss has on Members of their family, their parents..."
 
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BobH
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #6 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 4:36pm
 
skippy. wrote on Aug 1st, 2010 at 3:10pm:
Quote:
We are hoping to get a member seated in the Senate this election through preference deals.


WITH WHO?
Who will you be preferencing in your seats?
Are you just another GREEN LIBERALS party like the one that stood at the last election but was just a Liberal party group trying to steal GREEN votes?

Green liberals? We've teamed up with the minor parties to, yes, take down the greens and the two major parties.

Equitist wrote on Aug 1st, 2010 at 3:31pm:
Since you are a candidate, Bob, I'm glad that you've formally, albeit belatedly, introduced yourself!

Hmmnnn....I looked you up and am now wondering: why is it that you have provided so little information about yourself on your Party's web-site, and; where else can we learn the types of things about you and your past and present associations that the electorate has a right to know?

What else would you like to know? I am happy to answer your questions about me, though I reserve the right to not answer questions I feel are too personal and unrelated to the campaign. As for submitting information, I simply submitted to the party what they wanted. I'm a party candidate. Not an independent. And as this is my first election I'm following their guidelines closely. That's why I haven't given too much information outside of what they told me to give.

Also, I don't respond to criticisms like "that's dumb". I respond to well thought out responses that attempt to provide a proper alternative viewpoint. If a Greens supporter or member wants to argue environmental policy in a civil manner, I would be more than happy to do that. Let me remind everyone, we are for protecting the environment. We just look at the evidence that shows private land is much more well protected than public land.
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« Last Edit: Aug 1st, 2010 at 4:41pm by BobH »  
 
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longweekend58
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #7 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 4:49pm
 
Your wish to privatise crown land is monumentally stupid and I do not apologise for that statement. you can try and defend it anyway you like but it remains just that.

and your wish for an fully unregulated market economy is amazingly silly given the causes of the GFC!
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AUSSIE: "Speaking for myself, I could not care less about 298 human beings having their life snuffed out in a nano-second, or what impact that loss has on Members of their family, their parents..."
 
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BobH
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #8 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 5:16pm
 
BigOl64 wrote on Aug 1st, 2010 at 3:22pm:
Well the LDP are as close to my requirements as any party is going to get.

Might consider enrolling and voting at the next election, if you have a candidate in herbert.

Good to see a party that does not want to micro manage every aspect of our lives, turning Australia further into a buggered up nanny state like the greens, lib or labor.


Thanks bigol.

We were going to run a candidate in Herbert actually. I'm not sure what happened with that. I think we ended up running him in one of the marginal Brisbane seats.

If there's one thing we're against, it's the nanny state. In fact, that's our major running theme. Say no to the nanny state.
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mellie
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #9 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 5:18pm
 
These policies are so ridiculous, I really did think someone was trying to  draw attention to the stupidity of another similar parties policies.

My apologies Mr Hunter.

But I still find it hard to believe.

Smiley





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longweekend58
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #10 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 5:24pm
 
mellie wrote on Aug 1st, 2010 at 5:18pm:
These policies are so ridiculous, I really did think someone was trying to  draw attention to the stupidity of another similar parties policies.

My apologies Mr Hunter.

But I still find it hard to believe.

Smiley







if you used the terms gun-loving, ultra-capitalist, anti-environmentalists you'd pretty much have the LDP sorted out
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AUSSIE: "Speaking for myself, I could not care less about 298 human beings having their life snuffed out in a nano-second, or what impact that loss has on Members of their family, their parents..."
 
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BobH
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #11 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 5:27pm
 
longweekend58 wrote on Aug 1st, 2010 at 4:49pm:
Your wish to privatise crown land is monumentally stupid and I do not apologise for that statement. you can try and defend it anyway you like but it remains just that.

and your wish for an fully unregulated market economy is amazingly silly given the causes of the GFC!

See, that's a little more thought out and civil. That's good.

I'll start with the GFC, that's obvious. You said in your first response that if we deregulated the market we'd end up ruining the economy like the U.S. did. Can you point to one act of deregulation in the U.S. that had any sort of negative impact on the GFC? Because there wasn't a lot of deregulation leading up to the GFC. Bush was a massive regulator and increased the regulatory budget by 65% in real terms.

A lot of people like to point to Clinton and the Republican congress repealing the Glass-Steagal act. It's actually very fortunate that they did that because it softened the blow of the GFC a lot. Under the Glass-Steagall rules, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase would not have been able to acquire Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns. Nor would Goldman Sachs and Citibank have their current unified form, which may have helped them survive. So it was a good thing it was repealed in time. But even before it was repealed the U.S. government made many exceptions to the rules and that had no negative effect. Europe never even had rules like in place to begin with. They just weren't necessary and they were restricting economic growth. It was the institutions that didn't take advantage of the Glass-Steagall rules being repealed, such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns, that failed most spectacularly. And it was the institutions that did take advantage of the Glass-Steagall repeal that saved them.

Onto privatisation. I just believe that private property owners have a greater incentive to protect their land than the government has to protect public land. Some of the most well kept places are privately owned. Especially if they are making money off the land, like if they own a lot of trees, there's an incentive to keep breeding more trees so that you never run out of your source of profit. The same applies to endangered species. If we allowed people to farm endangered species and make money off them, their numbers would increase greatly. The Bison is America were going extinct until people were allowed to farm, breed and trade them. Now they are everywhere. Protectionism is just a stupid policy. It's never worked to protect anything. And I believed the endangered species list, and the government holding on to land that could be sold to private owners, are protectionist policies.
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longweekend58
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #12 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 5:55pm
 
|\I'll start with the GFC, that's obvious. You said in your first response that if we deregulated the market we'd end up ruining the economy like the U.S. did. Can you point to one act of deregulation in the U.S. that had any sort of negative impact on the GFC? Because there wasn't a lot of deregulation leading up to the GFC. Bush was a massive regulator and increased the regulatory budget by 65% in real terms.
||

USA has NEVER had the kind of regulation we have - especially prudential regulation in the banking sector. as a result they caused the very GFC that engulfed them. the kinds of excesses and idiiotic financial management that brought down so many banks and brokerage companies would not have happened here because of our regulation. we didnt avoid the GFC by accident. it wasnt a result of the mining boom. it was because of decades of good management and exerting prudent regulations on our financial sector.

as to private land issues.  the aregument over who looks after it best is certainly arguable but even if it were true, what about OWNERSHIP? do we really want vast tracts of this country in private hands taht denies us acces to our own country, forests and expanses? it sounds more like a policy to make a few rich and the rest of use very poor - very much the policy of much of the USA which has the dichotomy of the largest number of billionaries by far in the world while haveing the higest rate of poverty in the western world. PASS on emulating that example!
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AUSSIE: "Speaking for myself, I could not care less about 298 human beings having their life snuffed out in a nano-second, or what impact that loss has on Members of their family, their parents..."
 
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longweekend58
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #13 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 5:57pm
 
BobH wrote on Aug 1st, 2010 at 5:27pm:
longweekend58 wrote on Aug 1st, 2010 at 4:49pm:
Your wish to privatise crown land is monumentally stupid and I do not apologise for that statement. you can try and defend it anyway you like but it remains just that.

and your wish for an fully unregulated market economy is amazingly silly given the causes of the GFC!

See, that's a little more thought out and civil. That's good.

I'll start with the GFC, that's obvious. You said in your first response that if we deregulated the market we'd end up ruining the economy like the U.S. did. Can you point to one act of deregulation in the U.S. that had any sort of negative impact on the GFC? Because there wasn't a lot of deregulation leading up to the GFC. Bush was a massive regulator and increased the regulatory budget by 65% in real terms.

A lot of people like to point to Clinton and the Republican congress repealing the Glass-Steagal act. It's actually very fortunate that they did that because it softened the blow of the GFC a lot. Under the Glass-Steagall rules, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase would not have been able to acquire Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns. Nor would Goldman Sachs and Citibank have their current unified form, which may have helped them survive. So it was a good thing it was repealed in time. But even before it was repealed the U.S. government made many exceptions to the rules and that had no negative effect. Europe never even had rules like in place to begin with. They just weren't necessary and they were restricting economic growth. It was the institutions that didn't take advantage of the Glass-Steagall rules being repealed, such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns, that failed most spectacularly. And it was the institutions that did take advantage of the Glass-Steagall repeal that saved them.

Onto privatisation. I just believe that private property owners have a greater incentive to protect their land than the government has to protect public land. Some of the most well kept places are privately owned. Especially if they are making money off the land, like if they own a lot of trees, there's an incentive to keep breeding more trees so that you never run out of your source of profit. The same applies to endangered species. If we allowed people to farm endangered species and make money off them, their numbers would increase greatly. The Bison is America were going extinct until people were allowed to farm, breed and trade them. Now they are everywhere. Protectionism is just a stupid policy. It's never worked to protect anything. And I believed the endangered species list, and the government holding on to land that could be sold to private owners, are protectionist policies.


not all protectionist policies are bad. here in australia we have a protectionist policy towards PEOPLE. we give them universal healthcare and the dole. in the USA, healthcare is a priviledge and the ntion of universal healthcare bitterly opposed - at the same time as people die in the streets for lack of food and care.
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AUSSIE: "Speaking for myself, I could not care less about 298 human beings having their life snuffed out in a nano-second, or what impact that loss has on Members of their family, their parents..."
 
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Equitist
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Re: Liberal Democratic Party
Reply #14 - Aug 1st, 2010 at 6:08pm
 

Onya Longy!

'Tis good that we have a common political 'foe' (for want of a better descriptor) for a change...

Roll Eyes
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Lamenting the shift in the Australian psyche, away from the egalitarian ideal of the fair-go - and the rise of short-sighted pollies, who worship the 'Growth Fairy' and seek to divide and conquer!
 
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