Over the last 30 years we have seen a diminishing appreciation in Australia of the principle of personal responsibility. The growth of the welfare state, poor rulings by courts on personal damages claims and the growth of numerous government funded commissions, councils, authorities and boards have all eroded the notion of individual responsibility.

This reduction in the acceptance of personal responsibility has been replaced by an expectation that someone else (in most cases the Government) will take responsibility. Such increased reliance on government has come at the cost of personal freedom.

In recent times we have seen this trend manifested in ever louder calls for the Government to assume responsibility for Australia's obesity problem. It has been suggested this be achieved by regulating the advertising of food on television, restricting the number of fast food outlets within a certain area and allowing fast food outlets to be sued for "making" their customers overweight.

This trend, of Government making rules on matters that should be left to individuals, ranges from smoking to gambling, child discipline, outdoor recreation and eating habits, and has been referred to as the rise of the nanny state. It is a trend to which the LDP strongly objects.

The nanny state has also given rise to a number of government programs designed to assist individual disadvantaged groups. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on health, education and cultural programs specifically for Aborigines, women and various ethnic and special interest groups. Despite the cost, such programs have rarely made any tangible difference apart from those who were directly funded or employed by them.

The LDP is fundamentally opposed to programs that seek to impose particular values on society or to correct perceived disadvantage through affirmative action. We believe all Australians deserve to be treated equally well by the Government and to be equally held responsible for our own individual choices and actions.

The LDP would:

• Abolish all affirmative action programs on the grounds that they are discriminatory, patronising and unfair.

• Abolish all government funded programs and bodies that cater to particular ethnic, religious or gender groups. All Australians should be regarded as equal before the law.

• Abolish government funding for ineffective bodies such as the Anti Discrimination Commission and Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia.

• Remove the power of all bodies except courts to issue binding decisions on matters such as Discrimination, Harassment, Unfair Dismissal and Vilification.