The Libertarian Party (LP), formerly known as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is an Australian political party founded in Canberra in 2001. The party espouses smaller government and supports policies that are based on classical liberal, libertarian principles,[10] such as lower taxes, opposing restrictions on civil liberties, decentralisation, uranium mining, and the relaxation of smoking laws.[11]

Quick Facts Abbreviation, President ...
Libertarian Party
Abbreviation
PresidentAnthony Bull[2]
FounderJohn Humphreys[3]
Founded2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Registered
  • 2007 (as LDP)
  • 2024 (as Libertarian Party)
HeadquartersMount Waverley, Melbourne, Victoria
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing[8][9]
International affiliationInternational Alliance of Libertarian Parties
Colours  Burgundy
  Yellow
House of Representatives
0 / 151
Senate
0 / 76
Victorian Legislative Council
1 / 40
New South Wales Legislative Council
1 / 42
Local government councillors (NSW)
10 / 1,480
Website
www.libertarians.org.au
Close
Quick Facts Seats in local government, Surf Coast Shire (Vic.) ...
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Thumb
Party logo used briefly between 2021 and 2022

As of July 2024, the party is registered in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria, as well as for federal elections with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).[12]

History

Formation

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.[13] The party also contested the 2004 ACT election, receiving 1.3 percent of the vote.[14]

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.[15] Advised by the Australian Electoral Commission that federal registration under the original name was uncertain given opposition by the Liberal Party of Australia, the party chose to register federally as the Liberty and Democracy Party in 2007.[16] 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.[17] During this period, the party remained registered under its original name in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).[18]

Initial electoral contests

In 2010, the party contested the 2010 federal election, receiving 1.8 percent of the national senate vote[19] 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.[20] 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".[21]

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.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24] 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.[25] Australian Sex Party candidate Fiona Patten alleged Leyonhjelm intentionally failed to lodge ticket voting preferences forms, reneging on a preference deal,[26] but Leyonhjelm claimed that there was a mistake entering the AEC fax number.[27] 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.[28] 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.[29]

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.[30] In 2016, the Liberal Party sought to challenge the name of the party with the electoral commission, but ultimately abandoned the action.[31]

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.[32] Gabriel Buckley, the LDP's lead candidate in Queensland, marginally misses out on a seat.[33]

WA elections were held 11 March 2017, where the states first LDP member, Aaron Stonehouse, was elected.[29]

In May 2017, former Leader of the Opposition and political commentator Mark Latham left the Australian Labor Party and joined the LDP.[34]

In 2018, candidates Tim Quilty and David Limbrick were 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.[35]

In 2019, David Leyonhjelm announced that he will be quitting federal parliament in order to contest the New South Wales state election.[36] This resulted in Duncan Spender being sworn in to fill Leyonhjelm's former seat until the next Federal election.[37] David Leyonhjelm did not get elected in the 2019 New South Wales election, securing only 0.46 of a seat quota.[38] Duncan Spender also lost their Senate seat in the 2019 election.

In the 2020 Victorian local elections, the party fielded 11 candidates state-wide. Two endorsed candidates were elected, Olga Quilty in Wodonga with a 5.83% first preference vote against 18 other candidates and Paul Barker in Torquay with a 11.67% first preference vote against nine other candidates.

Recent developments

On 18 May 2017, the Liberal Democratic Party formed a 'conservative bloc' with One Nation and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party in the Western Australia Legislative Council.[6]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Victorian MPs Quilty and Limbrick became outspoken critics of the Victorian Parliament, the Federal Parliament, and Australia's COVID response in whole. On August 17, 2021, while the Victorian Parliament was closed due to restrictions, the two protested park closures on the steps of Parliament in the presence of armed police.[39] They refused to comply with a vaccine mandate for MP's, with Limbrick publicly destroying his vaccination status card.[40]

In July 2021, Campbell Newman, the former Premier of Queensland and Leader of the Liberal National Party of Queensland, resigned from the LNP, stating the LNP candidate in the 2021 Stretton state by-election was "let down by a party and leadership that never stands up for anything".[41] In August 2021, he announced he had joined the LDP to run as the party's lead Senate candidate in Queensland at the 2022 Australian federal election.

On 16 October 2021, Quilty, Limbrick, and other opposition MPs were ejected from Victorian Parliament for refusing to disclose their vaccination status.[42][43] After two weeks of exclusion, the MPs submitted their vaccination status on October 28, 2021, in order to return to parliament to oppose the legislative agenda of the government.[44]

On 23 November 2021, the LDP announced a preference deal with the United Australia Party in the upcoming Australian elections where each party would encourage its members to choose the other as their second preference.[45]

On 24 November 2021, Krystle Mitchell − an acting Senior Sergeant of Victoria Police who resigned after speaking publicly against enforcing health orders − announced she would be running for the Senate with the LDP as the second candidate on their ticket in Victoria.[46][47]

On 8 April 2022, Senator Sam McMahon joined the party after defecting from the Country Liberal Party in January.[48] This gave the federal parliamentary representation to the Liberal Democratic Party. McMahon would also be the lead Senate candidate for the party at the May federal election. She was unsuccessful in her election and the party lost parliamentary representation. AEC's consideration to deregister the party continued after the writs for the election were returned in June, and the party was deregistered at the federal level on 19 July 2022.[12]

Name change

Thumb
Logo used from 2022 until the party rename
Thumb
Election poster using the new party name and logo for the first time at the 2023 Mulgrave state by-election

Due to changes in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and a subsequent objection to the party's name by the Liberal Party, the Liberal Democratic Party applied to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to change its name to the Liberty and Democracy Party in February 2022 in order to remain registered.[49][50] The party then withdrew the name change application on 22 March 2022.[51] On 1 April 2022, the AEC gave notice to the party that it would consider deregistering the latter, giving one month for the party to appeal the notice.[52] However, as the writs for the May federal election were issued the following week on 11 April, the party register then would be "frozen" and this meant the party was allowed to contest the election with its current name.[53]

In May 2023, LDP members voted on a new name for the party.[54][55] The party adopted the new name "Libertarian Party", and the logo of the party bears the abbreviation of the new name "LP".

The Victorian Electoral Commission received an application from the party about a name change in June 2023.[56] On 16 July 2023, all state party branches, with the exception of New South Wales, formally changed their names to the Libertarian Party.[57] In October 2023, the party also applied for party registration federally with the AEC under the new party name.[58] The federal party registration was approved on 12 January 2024.[59]

The party contested under the new name for the first time at the Mulgrave state by-election in Victoria in November 2023,[60][61] and federally at the Dunkley by-election in March 2024.[62]

Policies and political positions

The LP 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.[63] LDP supported policies include:[64][65][66]

National policy

Current and past policies and views[vague]

Election results

Federal parliament

More information Election year, No. of overall votes ...
Senate
Election year No. of
overall votes
% of
overall vote
No. of
overall seats won
No. of
overall seats
+/–
2007 16,942 0.13
0 / 40
0 / 76
2010 230,191 1.81
0 / 40
0 / 76
Steady 0
2013 523,831 3.91
1 / 40
1 / 76
Increase 1
2016 298,915 2.16
1 / 76
1 / 76
Steady 0
2019 169,735 1.16
0 / 40
0 / 76
Decrease 1
2022 340,132 2.26
0 / 40
0 / 76
Steady 0
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State parliament

New South Wales

More information Election year, No. of overall votes ...
Legislative Council
Election year No. of
overall votes
% of
overall vote
No. of
overall seats
+/–
2019 96,999 2.18
0 / 42
2023 162,755 3.3
1 / 42
Increase 1
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South Australia

More information Election year, No. of overall votes ...
Legislative Council
Election year No. of
overall votes
% of
overall vote
No. of
overall seats
+/–
2014 6,091 0.6%
0 / 22
2018 25,956 2.47
0 / 22
2022 36,445 3.35
0 / 22
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Victoria

More information Election year, No. of overall votes ...
Legislative Council
Election year No. of
overall votes
% of
overall vote
No. of
overall seats
+/–
2014 104,516 3.06
0 / 40
2018 89,428 2.50
2 / 40
Increase 2
2022 99,054 2.64
1 / 40
Decrease 1
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Western Australia

More information Election year, No. of overall votes ...
Legislative Council
Election year No. of
overall votes
% of
overall vote
No. of
overall seats
+/–
2017 23,848 1.77
1 / 36
Increase 1
2021 9,218 0.64
0 / 36
Decrease 1
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Elected representatives

Current

State

More information Image, Name ...
Image Name Term State Office Notes
Thumb David Limbrick 22 June 2022 –
present
VIC Victorian Legislative Council
(South-Eastern Metropolitan)
First in office from 2018 until April 2022
Thumb John Ruddick 20 April 2023
present
NSW New South Wales Legislative Council First Libertarian member of the NSW parliament
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Local

More information Image, Name ...
Image Name Term State Office Notes
Thumb John Larter 17 July 2024 –
present
NSW Snowy Valleys Council First elected in 2017, joined party while in office
Thumb Paul Barker October 2020
present
VIC Surf Coast Shire Council
(Torquay Ward)
Thumb Olga Quilty October 2020
present
VIC Wodonga City Council
Thumb Vince Ferreri October 2024 -
present
NSW Camden Council (North)
Thumb Rose Sicari October 2024 -
present
NSW Camden Council (South)
Thumb Michael Graham October 2024 -
present
NSW Midcoast Council
Thumb Phil Beazley October 2024 -
present
NSW Midcoast Council
Thumb Mal McKenzie October 2024 -
present
NSW Midcoast Council
Thumb Vanessa Pollak October 2024 -
present
NSW Penrith City Council (South)
Thumb Mark Hornshaw October 2024 -
present
NSW Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
Thumb Scott Yeomans October 2024 -
present
NSW Singleton Council
Thumb Gregory Harris October 2024 -
present
NSW Upper Lachlan Shire Council
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Former

Federal

More information Image, Name ...
Image Name Term Office Notes
Thumb David Leyonhjelm 1 July 2014
1 March 2019
Senator for New South Wales Resigned to unsuccessfully contest 2019 New South Wales state election
Thumb Duncan Spender 20 March 2019 –
30 June 2019
Senator for New South Wales Replaced Leyonhjelm. Lost seat at 2019 election
Thumb Sam McMahon 8 April 2022 –
20 May 2022
Senator for the Northern Territory Joined party after leaving CLP. Lost seat at 2022 election
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State

Local

More information Image, Name ...
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Donors

The Australia Institute's 2019 report found that the Liberal Democratic Party had received political donations of $37,311 from pro-gun groups between July 2011 and March 2019. The report contextualises their donations as similar in value to the Nationals, Labor and Country Alliance, whilst being less than those to Katter's Australia Party, the Shooters Party, and the Liberal Party.[87][88]

See also

References

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