Libertarian Party (Australia) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Libertarian Party
Abbreviation	LP LBT
President	Anthony Bull
Founder	John Humphreys
Founded	2001; 24 years ago (2001)
Registered	2007 (as LDP) 2024 (as Libertarian Party)
Headquarters	Mount Waverley, Melbourne, Victoria
Ideology	Right-libertarianism Conservatism Classical liberalism
Political position	Right-wing
International affiliation	International Alliance of Libertarian Parties
Colours	Burgundy      Yellow
House of Representatives	0 / 151
Senate	0 / 76
New South Wales Legislative Council	1 / 42
Victorian Legislative Council	1 / 40
Local government councillors (NSW)	10 / 1,480
Local government councillors (Vic)	2 / 656
Politics of Australia Political parties

The Libertarian Party (LP) is an Australian political party. It was first known as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The party started in Canberra in 2001. Its main ideas are about having a smaller government and giving people more freedom. This includes things like lower taxes and fewer rules on how people live their lives. The party also believes in traditional values.

As of February 2025, the party is officially registered in several Australian states. These include the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia. It is also registered to take part in federal elections across Australia.

The Party's Journey

How the Party Started

John Humphreys helped start the Liberal Democratic Party.

The Liberal Democratic Party began in 2001. It was first registered in the Australian Capital Territory. The party took part in its first election in the ACT in 2001. It received about 1 percent of the votes. In 2004, it got 1.3 percent of the votes in the ACT election.

In 2006, new rules made it harder for smaller parties to stay registered. The party had to change its name to "Liberty and Democracy Party" for federal elections in 2007. This was because another big party, the Liberal Party of Australia, did not want them to use a similar name. In the 2007 federal election, they received a small number of votes.

By 2008, the party was able to change its federal name back to Liberal Democratic Party. However, it kept its original name in the ACT for a while.

Early Elections and Wins

The party's logo used between 2021 and 2022.

In the 2010 federal election, the party received 1.8 percent of the votes for the Senate. They also ran in 21 lower house seats.

The party had its first election wins in 2012. Jeff Pettett became a Councillor in Ku-ring-gai Council in Sydney. Clinton Mead also became a Councillor in Campbelltown Council.

In the 2013 federal election, a candidate named David Leyonhjelm was elected to the Senate. He was the first person from the Liberal Democratic Party to become a senator. Some people thought voters might have confused his party with other similar-sounding parties. However, Leyonhjelm said their votes also increased in places where they were not listed first on the ballot.

Soon after, Clinton Mead, a Liberal Democrats councillor, became the Mayor of Campbelltown.

In 2016, the Liberal Party tried to challenge the Liberal Democratic Party's name again. But they eventually stopped their challenge.

David Leyonhjelm was re-elected to the Senate in the 2016 federal election. In 2017, Aaron Stonehouse became the first LDP member elected in Western Australia.

In 2018, Tim Quilty and David Limbrick were elected to the Victorian Legislative Council. This is like the state's upper house of parliament.

In 2019, David Leyonhjelm left the federal parliament. He wanted to run in the 2019 New South Wales state election. Duncan Spender took his place for a short time. However, neither Leyonhjelm nor Spender won their elections in 2019.

In the 2020 Victorian local elections, two party candidates were elected. Olga Quilty won in Wodonga and Paul Barker won in Torquay.

Recent Events

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Victorian MPs Tim Quilty and David Limbrick spoke out against some government rules. They protested park closures and refused to follow vaccine rules for politicians.

In August 2021, Campbell Newman, a former Premier of Queensland, joined the LDP. He ran as a Senate candidate for the party in Queensland in the 2022 Australian federal election.

In November 2021, the LDP made a deal with the United Australia Party. They agreed to encourage their voters to choose the other party as their second choice in elections.

In April 2022, Senator Sam McMahon joined the party. She had left another party earlier. This meant the Liberal Democratic Party had a member in the federal parliament again. However, she did not win her election in May 2022. After this, the party was no longer registered at the federal level for a short time.

In July 2023, the Libertarian Party Queensland (LPQ) was formed. It is a separate party but works with the main Libertarian Party.

The Name Change

The party's logo used from 2022 until its name change in 2023.

The new logo and "LP" abbreviation used since the name change.

An election poster showing the new party name and logo in November 2023.

Because of new laws and objections from the Liberal Party, the Liberal Democratic Party decided to change its name. In May 2023, members voted to change the party's name to the "Libertarian Party." The party's logo now uses the abbreviation "LP."

In July 2023, most state branches of the party also changed their names to the Libertarian Party. The federal party registration under the new name was approved in January 2024.

The party first ran under its new name in the 2023 Mulgrave state by-election in Victoria in November 2023. It also ran federally in the 2024 Dunkley by-election in March 2024.

Looking Ahead to the 2025 Federal Election

In March 2025, the Libertarian Party formed an alliance called the Australia First Alliance (AFA). They joined with the HEART Party and Gerard Rennick People First. These groups share similar ideas, especially about vaccines.

What the Party Believes In

The Libertarian Party believes in classical liberal ideas. This means they want a small government and believe in laissez-faire (which means the government should not interfere much with the economy). They also strongly believe in individual freedom and individual responsibility.

Here are some of the things the Libertarian Party supports:

National Ideas

• They are against government rules that limit personal freedoms.
• They want to make the company tax rate zero.
• They want fewer rules for businesses. This includes cutting the number of workers at the Australian Taxation Office by half. They also want to sell off government-owned media like ABC and SBS, and the NBN internet network.
• They want to get rid of goals for renewable energy and net-zero emissions.
• They want the government's budget to be balanced, meaning spending should equal income.
• They want to get rid of the Department of Education.
• They support a 20% flat rate income tax. This means everyone pays the same percentage, but with the first $40,000 of income being tax free.
• They believe saving for retirement (superannuation) should be optional.
• They want to freeze and decentralise the minimum wage. This means local areas could set their own minimum wage.
• They support using nuclear energy.
• They want to decentralise education. This means local communities would have more control over schools.
• They strongly support free speech and are against censorship, especially on the internet.
• They are against mass surveillance (governments watching everyone) and digital identities.

Election Results

The Libertarian Party has taken part in many elections. Here's a look at how they have done:

Federal Parliament

This table shows the party's results in elections for the Australian Senate.

Senate

Election year	No. of overall votes	% of overall vote	No. of overall seats won	No. of overall seats	+/–
2007	16,942	0.13	0 / 40	0 / 76	—
2010	230,191	1.81	0 / 40	0 / 76	0
2013	523,831	3.91	1 / 40	1 / 76	1
2016	298,915	2.16	1 / 76	1 / 76	0
2019	169,735	1.16	0 / 40	0 / 76	1
2022	340,132	2.26	0 / 40	0 / 76	0
2025	83,746	0.54	0 / 40	0 / 76	0

State Parliament

These tables show the party's results in state elections across Australia.

New South Wales

Legislative Council

Election year	No. of overall votes	% of overall vote	No. of overall seats	+/–
2019	96,999	2.18	0 / 42	—
2023	162,755	3.3	1 / 42	1

Queensland

South Australia

Victoria

Legislative Council

Election year	No. of overall votes	% of overall vote	No. of overall seats	+/–
2014	104,516	3.06	0 / 40
2018	89,428	2.50	2 / 40	2
2022	99,054	2.64	1 / 40	1

Western Australia

Legislative Council

Election year	No. of overall votes	% of overall vote	No. of overall seats	+/–
2017	23,848	1.77	1 / 36	1
2021	9,218	0.64	0 / 36	1
2025	6,154	0.62	0 / 37

Australian Capital Territory

People Elected from the Party

Here are some of the people who have been elected to government from the Libertarian Party.

Currently Serving

State Level

These are members currently serving in state parliaments.

Image	Name	Term	State	Office	Notes
		David Limbrick	22 June 2022 – present	VIC	Victorian Legislative Council (South-Eastern Metropolitan)	First in office from 2018 until April 2022
		John Ruddick	20 April 2023 – present	NSW	New South Wales Legislative Council	First Libertarian member of the NSW parliament

Local Level

These are members currently serving as local councillors.

Image	Name	Term	State	Office	Notes
		John Larter	17 July 2024 – present	NSW	Snowy Valleys Council	First elected in 2017, joined party while in office
		Paul Barker	October 2020 – present	VIC	Surf Coast Shire Council (Torquay Ward)
		Olga Quilty	October 2020 – present	VIC	Wodonga City Council
		Vince Ferreri	October 2024 – present	NSW	Camden Council (North)
		Rose Sicari	October 2024 – present	NSW	Camden Council (South)
		Michael Graham	October 2024 – present	NSW	Midcoast Council
		Phil Beazley	October 2024 – present	NSW	Midcoast Council
		Mal McKenzie	October 2024 – present	NSW	Midcoast Council
		Vanessa Pollak	October 2024 – present	NSW	Penrith City Council (South)
		Mark Hornshaw	October 2024 – present	NSW	Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
		Scott Yeomans	October 2024 – present	NSW	Singleton Council
		Gregory Harris	October 2024 – present	NSW	Upper Lachlan Shire Council

Former Members

Federal Level

These people used to be federal members for the party.

Image	Name	Term	Office	Notes
		David Leyonhjelm	1 July 2014 – 1 March 2019	Senator for New South Wales	Resigned to run in a state election
		Duncan Spender	20 March 2019 – 30 June 2019	Senator for New South Wales	Took Leyonhjelm's place. Lost his seat in the 2019 election.
		Sam McMahon	8 April 2022 – 20 May 2022	Senator for the Northern Territory	Joined the party after leaving another. Lost her seat in the 2022 election.

State Level

These people used to be state members for the party.

Image	Name	Term	State	Office	Notes
		Aaron Stonehouse	22 May 2017 – 21 May 2021	WA	Western Australian Legislative Council (South Metropolitan)	Lost his seat in the 2021 election.
		Tim Quilty	24 November 2018 – 26 November 2022	VIC	Victorian Legislative Council (Northern Victoria)	Lost his seat in the 2022 election.

Local Level

These people used to be local councillors for the party.

Image	Name	Term	State	Office	Notes
		Ben Buckley	October 2012 – October 2020	VIC	East Gippsland Shire Council
		Clinton Mead	8 September 2012 – 10 September 2016	NSW	Campbelltown City Council	Lost his seat in the 2016 election.
		Jeff Pettett	8 September 2012 – 2017	NSW	Ku-ring-gai Council (Comenarra Ward)	Left the party.
		Tim Quilty	22 October 2016 – 12 December 2018	VIC	Wodonga City Council	Elected to the Victorian Legislative Council in 2018.
		Samuel Gunning	9 September 2017 – 4 December 2021	NSW	North Sydney Council (Wollstonecraft Ward)	Did not run for re-election in 2021.

Images for kids

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  Logo of the Libertarian Party (Australia)