We want to hear your views on the issues that are important to you this election.

Click HERE to take our short survey.

Politicians like to tell you what’s good for Australia, what’s good for you and how they will fix all your problems if only you’d vote for them. 

But really, they don’t possess any special competence that qualifies them to make decisions on personal issues. That’s why the LDP wants to reduce the intrusion of government into our daily lives, to the extent this is consistent with a civilised society. We want to get government ‘out of your face, and out of your pocket’.

Thanks to a fantastic effort by Steve Clancy we will be distributing this leaflet state-wide.

Feel free to print out and distribute. Try and change the ’Printed by…’ line if possible. 

Here’s an article about the LDP from this month’s Indian Link newspaper. It briefly describes our key policies:

indianlink-nov2007.pdf

If you’re aware of any other media coverage available online, or in PDF/image form, do let me know in comments.

Republican Ron Paul recently raised $4 million in a single day, thanks to a pledge that over 17,000 supporters signed. To test the waters and see how effective online fundraising could be for the libertarian cause in Australia, I’ve also decided to set up a pledge. I promise to donate $10 to the LDP if 100 other Australians will do the same. This will raise $1,000 for the party, but maybe someday we will raise millions like Ron Paul!

Please go here to sign the pledge. And do tell your friends. Freedom doesn’t defend itself — we need capable people and plenty of money to get the message out.

UPDATE: After half a day, several people have signed up to donate.

Today’s Australian has exposed Family First’s hypocrisy:

The Family First candidate who questioned the sexuality of his Liberal rival in the crucial north Queensland seat of Leichhardt yesterday admitted to having downloaded internet pornography…

But Mr Jacobsen was evasive on three occasions when asked about whether he had tried illicit drugs, saying either “not to my knowledge” or that he could “not recall”, before giving a definitive “no”.

How many other politicians are secretly participating in ’immoral’ activities, while also advising the public against such activities?

Every election we’re given the same choice. The Liberal Party offers us policies based around big spending and high taxes. And Labor does its best to copy the Liberals, but tries to differentiate itself by spending big on different areas. Both focus on bribing us with our own money.

The Liberals emphasise families and sound economic management, but like to impose their moral values upon the population. Labor is admirable in their talk about protecting the environment, but promise greater regulation and less freedom as the means of achieving their goals. In effect, the ‘right-wing’ party wants to control your social life, while the ‘left-wing’ party wants to control your economic life. But they’re both about controlling your life.

However, the Liberty and Democracy Party takes a less authoritarian approach. And we do this by abiding by one key principle: everyone should be free to do what they want with their own property, so long as they aren’t directly hurting anyone else.

If I’m elected, I promise I will bring this sensible principle to all areas of social and economic policy. The result will be more freedom and prosperity. 

Victorian candidates will be available to meet interested voters and discuss party policies at the regular monthly meeting.

The event is on the 7th of November at Cafe on Bourke, 50 Bourke Street, Melbourne, at 7pm. Anyone who’s undecided on whether to join the LDP is welcome to come and hear what we’re about.

Today I was interviewed by a journalist from The Colac Herald. He wanted to know what I could offer to the people of Corangamite. I told him quite simply, that I would try and reduce the cost of living for ordinary Australians by working to reduce the tax they pay.

Nobody in the Liberal Party seems keen on talking about the fact that the Howard Government likes to spend big and tax working families high. As the LDP has revealed, Australians are paying 34% more tax than they paid when the Howard Government was elected in 1996. This is the highest amount in Australia’s history.

But don’t think the Labor Party is any better. They prefer to leave less money in your pocket too, and have been making wild spending promises in marginal seats, thus guaranteeing the cost of living will increase in the future. And then they blame petrol prices and retailers! We should stop blaming retailers and start blaming the real culprits — big spending and high taxing governments that try and bribe voters with our own money.

A Roy Morgan poll recently found that 26% of the people in Corangamite want reduced taxes. Under the LDP’s policy, nobody pays tax on their first $30,000 earned. This is fair and simple.

And 30% want improved health services and hospitals. Lower taxes is a good way to make health more affordable, because it means that Australians will have more left over to spend on obtaining better healthcare for themselves. 

Apart from making health services more affordable, lower taxes mean the federal government is deprived of some revenue, at least in the short-term. This means the government will be forced to stop wasting money on vote-buying projects, like the $10 billion in subsidies given to fossil fuel companies, who contribute to global warming.

Peter Saunders has written a rather amusing article on how government treats us like children:

You see, I am your government, which means I care about you and I know best what is good for you. It’s my job to nag you and boss you around. That’s what living in a free and democratic country means: I force you to vote, then I take your money, then I use it to tell you how to live your lives. You’ll thank me for it one day.

This election, vote for the LDP if you value personal responsibility — and being treated like an adult.

How the public service has increased in size since the Liberals came to power.