Young Liberals (Australia)
Encyclopedia
The Young Liberal Movement is the youth division of the Liberal Party of Australia
, and membership is open to those between 16 and 30 years of age. Members of Young Liberals have full party-membership, and have the choice of which part they join. They are active in Liberal Party campaigning during all state and federal elections.
The Young Liberals today are one of the largest divisions of the wider Liberal Party of Australia
, and are major contributors to policy development and campaigning at election time.
The Movement is predominantly organised on the state division level, with each state organising its own events and policy and electing its own executive. In 2007 the QLD division of the Liberal Party of Australia and the QLD National Party merged to become the Liberal National Party of Queensland (A division of the Federal Liberal party and an affiliate of the federal National Party). As Part of this merger process the Queensland Young Liberals and the Queensland Young Nationals were merged to become the Young Liberal National Party
(Young LNP
). The Young LNP
is effectively the Queensland division of both the federal Young Liberals and the Federal Young Nationals, and is the largest division of each of these movements. A national executive also exists with representatives made up from delegates from each state division. Policy can also be adopted by the Movement's federal body.
The current Federal President of the Young Liberals is Michael van Dissel from South Australia.
The Young Liberal Movement is a separate movement to the Liberal students who are based around campus clubs that support the Liberal party but are not officially a part of it. While the Young Liberal is the peak body of local Young Liberal branches, Liberal students are represented by the Australian Liberal Students' Federation
. However, in 2006 the NSW State Representative of the Australian Liberal Students' Federation
said "I am pleased to report that the link between NSW Liberal Students and the NSW Young Liberal movement is stronger than ever. Through joint functions and campaigns we have achieved a unity of purpose enabling us to work together to promote Liberalism".
. The formation occurred through a meeting at the Melbourne Town Hall, at which 750 people were present. However, the Young Nationalists Organisation
, also founded by Menzies in Victoria, and which became part of the Liberal Party at its founding, can be seen as its earliest form.
In 2011, for the first time in 10 years, the right faction lost the presidency of the NSW Young Liberals with the assistance of Federal MP Alex Hawke
.
attracted media attention for their behaviour at social functions and accusations of rivalry between the Australian Liberal Students' Federation
and the Young Liberal movement.
On 17 July 2006, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
's Four Corners program broadcast allegations that factional leaders within the Liberal Party in New South Wales
had been used "as the foot soldiers in factional warfare in which control goes to the faction which has the most branches." The program quoted John Hyde Page, a former Young Liberal and author of a book on his experiences, said that he had worked for the moderate faction to engage in branch stacking
in Sydney
while he was a member of the Young Liberals, and that currently the right faction was engaged in branch stacking also. Former federal Liberal leader John Hewson
expressed his concern that in more recent times, the right faction had taken control of the Young Liberals in New South Wales in an "extreme right takeover", that "in my day as leader the Young Liberals were a burr under my saddle from the left" whereas now they had come to support the agenda of right factional leaders such as David Clarke
.
Conservative Sydney Morning Herald columnist Miranda Devine
said after the program was broadcast that the shift to the right within all areas of the Liberal Party simply reflected the political climate of the Howard
era, and suggested that the moderate faction was merely angry at losing influence because "the left has controlled the NSW Liberal Party for more than two decades and always regarded the Young Liberals as its personal breeding ground." She also said, that "As the pendulum swings back from the extremes of political correctness
which made the state party unelectable, feelings are bound to be hurt and a few little old ladies in blue-ribbon branches might be trampled."
In July 2006, Young Liberal Movement was the subject of controversy after the ABC's
Lateline
program aired footage from the 2005 National Union of Students' conference in Ballarat. The video showed Liberal students chanting "We're racist, we're sexist, we're homophobic". The president of the New South Wales Young Liberals released a statement condemning the outbursts.
In April 2010, a Young Liberal National party member from Queensland likened US President Barack Obama
to a monkey on his Twitter
account. The member responded saying it was a poor attempt at irony that had been taken out of context. As a result of the comments, he was expelled from the party. The following month, another Young Liberal National member posted derogatory comments on Facebook about the ill health of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam
. A party representative issued a public apology and said there would be disciplinary action, warning that members had been thrown out for similar incidents.
Further controversy arose in June, 2010, when a member of the Young Liberal National Party organised an event via Face Book to celebrate the ill health of former Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam. The event, which 17 members of the Young Liberal National Party are reported to have subsequently attended, aimed to celebrate that...”the old man is old and nearly dead [former PM, Gough Whitlam], he got sacked, and he is shit....So lets (sic) celebrate and be happy”.
who said "The left-liberal grip on educational institutions and large, though not all, sections of the media remains intense". The President of the Young Liberals said that his organisation wanted a "a charter of academic freedom to promote intellectual diversity"
said that he was disturbed by students' reports of academic bias.
Liberal Senator Brett Mason
noted that, although the campaign was aimed at left-wing academics, it was important to deal with "teaching bias on both sides of the political spectrum."
Others described the campaign as a "witch hunt" or McCarthyism
, and as an attack on the professionalism of academics.
In response to Make Education Fair, the National Tertiary Education Union
said "there is no evidence of widespread left-wing bias" and launched its own campaign entitled "Academic Freedom Watch". The President of the NTEU dismissed the accusation that academics are running their own agendas in the classroom as "nonsense".
New South Wales
Greens
politician John Kaye said "any school or university educator who expresses an opinion would be at risk from the young Liberals plan to create a McCarthy-ist environment on campuses and schools"
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
, and membership is open to those between 16 and 30 years of age. Members of Young Liberals have full party-membership, and have the choice of which part they join. They are active in Liberal Party campaigning during all state and federal elections.
The Young Liberals today are one of the largest divisions of the wider Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
, and are major contributors to policy development and campaigning at election time.
The Movement is predominantly organised on the state division level, with each state organising its own events and policy and electing its own executive. In 2007 the QLD division of the Liberal Party of Australia and the QLD National Party merged to become the Liberal National Party of Queensland (A division of the Federal Liberal party and an affiliate of the federal National Party). As Part of this merger process the Queensland Young Liberals and the Queensland Young Nationals were merged to become the Young Liberal National Party
Young LNP
The Young Liberal National Party, or the Young LNP, is the youth division of the Liberal National Party of Queensland, and membership is open to those between 16 and 30 years of age...
(Young LNP
Young LNP
The Young Liberal National Party, or the Young LNP, is the youth division of the Liberal National Party of Queensland, and membership is open to those between 16 and 30 years of age...
). The Young LNP
Young LNP
The Young Liberal National Party, or the Young LNP, is the youth division of the Liberal National Party of Queensland, and membership is open to those between 16 and 30 years of age...
is effectively the Queensland division of both the federal Young Liberals and the Federal Young Nationals, and is the largest division of each of these movements. A national executive also exists with representatives made up from delegates from each state division. Policy can also be adopted by the Movement's federal body.
The current Federal President of the Young Liberals is Michael van Dissel from South Australia.
The Young Liberal Movement is a separate movement to the Liberal students who are based around campus clubs that support the Liberal party but are not officially a part of it. While the Young Liberal is the peak body of local Young Liberal branches, Liberal students are represented by the Australian Liberal Students' Federation
Australian Liberal Students' Federation
The Australian Liberal Stduents' Federation or ALSF is an Australian students political group. The ALSF is the peak national body for over thirty campus Liberal Clubs. While the ALSF carries similar ideology to the Liberal Party of Australia and works closely with the party it is an Independent...
. However, in 2006 the NSW State Representative of the Australian Liberal Students' Federation
Australian Liberal Students' Federation
The Australian Liberal Stduents' Federation or ALSF is an Australian students political group. The ALSF is the peak national body for over thirty campus Liberal Clubs. While the ALSF carries similar ideology to the Liberal Party of Australia and works closely with the party it is an Independent...
said "I am pleased to report that the link between NSW Liberal Students and the NSW Young Liberal movement is stronger than ever. Through joint functions and campaigns we have achieved a unity of purpose enabling us to work together to promote Liberalism".
History
The Young Liberal Movement was first formed on 12 December 1945, just a few months after the official inauguration of the Liberal Party on 31 October in the same year, and, as for the Party proper, much of the credit for its creation can be attributed to Sir Robert MenziesRobert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
. The formation occurred through a meeting at the Melbourne Town Hall, at which 750 people were present. However, the Young Nationalists Organisation
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
, also founded by Menzies in Victoria, and which became part of the Liberal Party at its founding, can be seen as its earliest form.
In 2011, for the first time in 10 years, the right faction lost the presidency of the NSW Young Liberals with the assistance of Federal MP Alex Hawke
Alex Hawke
Alexander George "Alex" Hawke MP , an Australian politician, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing Mitchell, in north-western metropolitan Sydney, for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2007...
.
Criticism
In 2005, the Young Liberals in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
attracted media attention for their behaviour at social functions and accusations of rivalry between the Australian Liberal Students' Federation
Australian Liberal Students' Federation
The Australian Liberal Stduents' Federation or ALSF is an Australian students political group. The ALSF is the peak national body for over thirty campus Liberal Clubs. While the ALSF carries similar ideology to the Liberal Party of Australia and works closely with the party it is an Independent...
and the Young Liberal movement.
On 17 July 2006, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's Four Corners program broadcast allegations that factional leaders within the Liberal Party in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
had been used "as the foot soldiers in factional warfare in which control goes to the faction which has the most branches." The program quoted John Hyde Page, a former Young Liberal and author of a book on his experiences, said that he had worked for the moderate faction to engage in branch stacking
Branch stacking
Branch stacking is the act of recruiting members for a branch of a political party for the principal purpose of influencing the outcome of internal preselections of candidates for public office...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
while he was a member of the Young Liberals, and that currently the right faction was engaged in branch stacking also. Former federal Liberal leader John Hewson
John Hewson
John Robert Hewson AM is an Australian economist, company director and a former politician. He was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 1990 to 1994 and led the party to defeat at the 1993 federal election.-Early life:...
expressed his concern that in more recent times, the right faction had taken control of the Young Liberals in New South Wales in an "extreme right takeover", that "in my day as leader the Young Liberals were a burr under my saddle from the left" whereas now they had come to support the agenda of right factional leaders such as David Clarke
David Clarke (Australian politician)
David John Clarke, an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council representing the Liberal Party of Australia since 2003. and is considered to have conservative Christian views.-Personal life:...
.
Conservative Sydney Morning Herald columnist Miranda Devine
Miranda Devine
Miranda Devine is an Australian columnist and writer noted for her conservative stance on a range of social and political issues. Her column, formerly printed twice weekly in Fairfax Media newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun-Herald, now appears in the News Limited Daily Telegraph with...
said after the program was broadcast that the shift to the right within all areas of the Liberal Party simply reflected the political climate of the Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
era, and suggested that the moderate faction was merely angry at losing influence because "the left has controlled the NSW Liberal Party for more than two decades and always regarded the Young Liberals as its personal breeding ground." She also said, that "As the pendulum swings back from the extremes of political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
which made the state party unelectable, feelings are bound to be hurt and a few little old ladies in blue-ribbon branches might be trampled."
In July 2006, Young Liberal Movement was the subject of controversy after the ABC's
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
Lateline
Lateline
Lateline is an Australian television news and current affairs program produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, airing weeknights at on ABC1. The program has developed a reputation for head-to-head debates on current issues and political interviews. Lateline is followed by its sister...
program aired footage from the 2005 National Union of Students' conference in Ballarat. The video showed Liberal students chanting "We're racist, we're sexist, we're homophobic". The president of the New South Wales Young Liberals released a statement condemning the outbursts.
In April 2010, a Young Liberal National party member from Queensland likened US President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to a monkey on his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account. The member responded saying it was a poor attempt at irony that had been taken out of context. As a result of the comments, he was expelled from the party. The following month, another Young Liberal National member posted derogatory comments on Facebook about the ill health of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
. A party representative issued a public apology and said there would be disciplinary action, warning that members had been thrown out for similar incidents.
Further controversy arose in June, 2010, when a member of the Young Liberal National Party organised an event via Face Book to celebrate the ill health of former Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam. The event, which 17 members of the Young Liberal National Party are reported to have subsequently attended, aimed to celebrate that...”the old man is old and nearly dead [former PM, Gough Whitlam], he got sacked, and he is shit....So lets (sic) celebrate and be happy”.
Make Education Fair
In February 2008, the Young Liberals launched a campaign titled Make Education Fair. The campaign documented incidents of bias experienced by students, including photos, stories and course guides and asked students to "dob in" an academic. The Young Liberals were motivated by comments by former Prime Minister John HowardJohn Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
who said "The left-liberal grip on educational institutions and large, though not all, sections of the media remains intense". The President of the Young Liberals said that his organisation wanted a "a charter of academic freedom to promote intellectual diversity"
Response
In response to this campaign, the Senate announced an Inquiry into Academic Freedom in June 2008 with the Inquiry Into Academic Freedom - Parliament of Australia terms of reference. In calling the enquiry, Victorian Liberal Senator Mitch FifieldMitch Fifield
Mitchell Peter "Mitch" Fifield , Australian politician, is member of the Australian Senate since March 2004, representing the state of Victoria for the Liberal Party.-Early years:...
said that he was disturbed by students' reports of academic bias.
Liberal Senator Brett Mason
Brett Mason
Dr Brett John Mason , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate since July 1999, representing the state of Queensland. He was the Parliamentary Secretary for Health....
noted that, although the campaign was aimed at left-wing academics, it was important to deal with "teaching bias on both sides of the political spectrum."
Others described the campaign as a "witch hunt" or McCarthyism
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
, and as an attack on the professionalism of academics.
In response to Make Education Fair, the National Tertiary Education Union
National Tertiary Education Union
The National Tertiary Education Union is an Australian trade union for all higher education and university employees. It is an industry union and the only union working exclusively in the Australian university sector.-About the NTEU:...
said "there is no evidence of widespread left-wing bias" and launched its own campaign entitled "Academic Freedom Watch". The President of the NTEU dismissed the accusation that academics are running their own agendas in the classroom as "nonsense".
New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
politician John Kaye said "any school or university educator who expresses an opinion would be at risk from the young Liberals plan to create a McCarthy-ist environment on campuses and schools"