The government wants to control the media while regulators and the courts inhibit the expression of opinions. But freedom of speech is one of our most fundamental rights and central to a free, democratic society.

National Conference 2013

The 2013 National Conference of the Liberal Democratic Party was held on 20 January in Sydney.

Formal business included reports, consideration of policies and a new constitution, and election of National Executive members. There were also two guest speakers. 

Cassandra Wilkinson:  author of the book "Don't panic - nearly everything is better than you think".  Her articles feature in The Australian newspaper and she is a regular guest on current affairs programs. She was a senior public servant and former senior adviser to the New South Wales premier Kristina Keneally.  She is married to a former Labor MP. A longstanding member of the ALP, she is nonetheless a confirmed libertarian. 

Brian Bedkober: a graduate in medicine from the University of Sydney who has spent the bulk of his working life as a family practitioner.

He has also spent a lot of time campaigning against government intrusion in the health system. - most significantly as president of the Australian Medical Centres Association and for the last several years as president of Private Doctors of Australia. He has written widely on health care and related issues, was editor of Australian Private Doctor from 2003 to 2008 and in 2009 authored "Problems in Health Care Delivery: government as cause not cure".

Their presentations are shown here: