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National Conference 2012

The 2012 National Conference of the Liberal Democratic Party was held on 5 February at the City Convention Centre in Melbourne.

Formal business included reports, election of National Executive members and approval of policies.

The guest speaker was Mr Chris Berg. Chris is a Research Fellow with the Institute of Public Affairs, a regular columnist with the Sunday Age and ABC's  The Drum, and an award-winning former editor of the IPA Review. 

His presentation is in three parts. The first is below. Click here and here for the second and third parts.

The Liberal Democratic Party is Australia's only party that does not appeal to voters based on the claim that it is better at spending our taxes.

The LDP believes Australians pay far too much tax and wants to see them substantially reduced. Since 1996, per capita taxation has increased by more than a third after allowing for inflation, not including the GST.  As a share of GDP, taxes (federal and state) are 75% above what they were in 1972, when the Whitlam government was first elected.

Everyone disapproves of things that others do. But if we prohibit all the things we disapprove of, nobody will be free.

Smoking, drinking, gambling, eating and certain recreational activities are good examples. While they might be entitled to give advice about the risks, regulators are increasingly taking personal choices away from individuals based on disapproval of the choices they might make.

Whether or not the world is getting warmer, and whether humans are contributing, the proposed Carbon Tax is bad policy. The Liberal Democratic Party believes there will be far less misery if society is simply encouraged to adapt to the changing climate, allowing market responses to proceed and providing support to any people or countries that are genuinely adversely affected.