The Gippsland By-Election

The Liberty and Democracy Party (LDP) will be contesting the June 28th Gippsland by-election. The LDP’s candidate is well known Gippsland identity, Ben Buckley.

Describing how the LDP will appeal to Gippsland voters, Ben said, “The LDP stands for low taxes, small government and individual freedom. That’s also what I believe in, and I think a lot of Gippsland people do too.”

“Australians pay far too much tax and both Coalition and Labor governments try to bribe us with our own money. On average people are paying 30% more tax than 10 years ago, even after adjusting for inflation. Neither the Liberals, Nationals nor Labor have any real commitment to restructure our taxation system to correct this. With all the money being generated from GST, company tax, petrol tax, traffic fines etc, we could be paying zero personal tax,” Ben explained.

The LDP has a well-developed policy to reduce taxes that involves a tax-free threshold of $30,000 and a flat 30% tax rate above this. It is also committed to reducing or removing other taxes such as land taxes and Council rates, to significantly decrease the tax burden on all Australians.”

“Governments are also far too authoritarian and intrusive. None of the major parties has any commitment to individual choice and responsibility. While the proper role of government is to protect our lives, freedom and property, our governments are transforming Australia into a place where every aspect of life is controlled.

“The LDP stands for reduced government intrusion in the lives of ordinary people. That includes things like voluntary voting, assisted suicide and removing the petty rules and penalties that torment businesses. It would restore to property owners the right to permit smoking on their property and to cut down their own trees. Even when the choices that individuals make are unwise and could harm them, so long as nobody else is forced to suffer harm, ‘It’s your choice, not the government’s’”, Mr. Buckley said.

The LDP is unlike most small political parties because it is not focused on a narrow range of issues and does not reflect the views of a dominant individual. It is also not pursuing a left or right wing political agenda. It is a genuinely broad-based party, defining itself as anti-left, anti-right and pro-liberty.  Parties with a similar approach include ACT in New Zealand and the Libertarian Party in the USA.