Libertarians can pull a good vote.

I had wonderful news this morning when I checked the results of the Gippsland By –election, which was held yesterday. The libertarian, Liberty and Democracy Party scored a fantastic 4.35% elevating us from the less than 1% type to a minor party which can genuinely influence the result of elections. That sort of vote in a general election could easily result in a senate seat.

This video is of our candidate, Ben Buckley whose high profile probably helped a lot.


This is followed by the leader of our New South Wales senate team in the last federal election, Terje Petersen on Coast FM.


From the LDP Blog

Our candidate Ben Buckley lives at Benambra and is well known to the rural community throughout Gippsland. For many years he was co-owner and Chief Pilot of Alpine Aviation, involved in crop dusting plus emergency Medivacs and mercy flights.

At 71, Ben is still involved in the provision of fire spotting services and general aviation.
Ben’s early years were spent in contract deer culling in New Zealand, where he also learnt to fly. His fame and skill as a pilot spread and one of Ben’s major achievements was flying an ultra-light aircraft from Australia to New Zealand.

Ben’s adventures and anecdotes around his flying, disputes with Aviation Department bureaucracy and community activities are contained in the book ‘Buckley’s Chance”, published in 1998.

Ben has always been a staunch supporter of the timber industry as well as pushing for better access to the bush by four-wheel drivers and hunters. His passion for community issues led him to enter local government and he is now in his second term as a Councillor with East Gippsland Shire Council. Prior to its amalgamation he spent 12 years as a Councillor with Omeo Shire, including one term as President.

Ben has been a proud fighter for the people of Gippsland, helping make the Great Alpine Road a tourist icon as well as pushing for the all-weather upgrade of the Mitta Mitta and Benambra-Corryong Roads.

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.