Liberal Party of Australia

1. Liberal Party of Australia

Menshykh Irina, 21-EG

2. History

HISTORY
In 1944, the Liberal Party of Australia was
founded after a three-day meeting held in a small
hall not far from Parliament House in Canberra.
The meeting was called by the then Leader of the
Opposition (United Australia Party) Robert
Menzies.
Robert Menzies had already served as Prime
Minister of Australia (1939-41), but he believed
that the non-Labor parties should unite to
present a strong alternative government to the
Australian people.
Robert Menzies believed the time was right for a
new political force in Australia - one which fought
for the freedom of the individual and produced
enlightened liberal policies.
It is often said that Robert Menzies stood for the
‘forgotten people’ of Australia; those mainstream
Australians whose goals, needs and aspirations
had been ignored by Government.

3.

Eighty men and women from 18 non-Labor
political parties and organizations attended the
first Canberra conference.
They shared a common belief that Australians
should have greater personal freedom and choice
than that offered under Labor’s post-war socialist
plans.
In opening Robert Menzies address at that meeting,
he said:
« ...what we must look for, and it is a matter of
desperate importance to our society, is a true revival of
liberal thought which will work for social justice and
security, for national power and national progress, and
for the full development of the individual citizen, though
not through the dull and deadening process of
socialism».

4.

On October 16, 1944, the name The Liberal Party of
Australia was adopted, uniting the many different
political organizations. Two months later, at the
Albury Conference, the Party’s organizational and
constitutional framework was drawn up.
The name Liberal was chosen deliberately for its
associations with progressive nineteenth century free
enterprise and social equality. By May 1945
membership of the Liberal Party had swelled to
40,000.
In 1949 the Liberals, in coalition with the Country Party,
were first elected to national government.
Sir Robert Menzies went on to lead Australia and the
Liberal Party for 17 years, before he retired from politics
in 1966.
The Liberal Party has become Australia’s most successful
postwar party; it was elected to Government for 23 years
from 1949 to 1972, and for another term of more than
seven years from 1975 to 1983.

5.

In 1996, the Australian people again re-elected the
Liberal Party, in Coalition with the National Party of
Australia, to govern Australia in a landslide win, and in
1998, 2001 & 2004 that government was re-elected.
In 2013, the Abbott Coalition Government took
office. In September 2015, Malcolm Turnbull was
sworn in as Australia’s 29th Prime Minister. In August
2018, Scott Morrison was elected leader of the
Liberal Party and became Australia’s 30th Prime
Minister.

6. Structure

STRUCTURE
The Organizational and Parliamentary wings of
the Liberal Party each have clearly defined and
separate roles. In the Liberal Party, the
Organizational wing cannot dictate policy but
consults with and advises the Parliamentary wing,
particularly on the development of longer-term
policies.

7.

The Organizational wing is based on the
Party’s paid membership of supporters. Across
Australia, the Liberal Party has more than 80,000
members in more than 2000 branches which are
governed by their respective State Liberal Party
structure - known as 'Divisions'. It is responsible
for:
•Party’s
Platform - the broad statement of Liberal
fundamental beliefs and intentions
•Pre-selection of the Party’s candidates for
elections
•Management and conduct of election campaigns
•Fund-raising

8.

The Parliamentary wing of the Liberal Party
is made up of Federal and State Parliamentarians.
It is responsible for:
•Representation
of electorates held by Liberal
Party Members of Parliament
•Liberal Party’s policies, strategies and
parliamentary priorities guided by the principles
contained in the Party Platform

9. The Liberal Party of Australia is a Federation of Divisions

THE LIBERAL PARTY OF
AUSTRALIA IS A
FEDERATION OF
DIVISIONS
There is one Division for each of the six states, as
well as the Australian Capital Territory. The Northern
Territory Country Liberal Party is an affiliate of the
Liberal Party.
Each of the Liberal Party’s seven Divisions is
autonomous and has their own constitutions.
Each Division has its own Party headquarters to
service the State Organization, as well as the State
Parliamentary Party. They also assist Members of
Federal Parliament in their home electorates.
The constitution of each Division lays out the
structure of the Party for that State or Territory and
lays down the rules of membership, election of officebearers, pre-selection of candidates for both State
and Federal Parliaments, and the policy advisory
process.
Each Division undertakes its own fund raising, its
relations with other political parties, and the planning
and conduct of its election campaigns, in conjunction
with the Federal Secretariat.

10. Beliefs of Liberal Party

BELIEFS OF LIBERAL
PARTY
•In
the inalienable rights and freedoms of all
peoples; and we work towards a lean
government that minimises interference in our
daily lives; and maximises individual and private
sector initiative.
government that nurtures and encourages its
citizens through incentive, rather than putting
limits on people through the punishing
disincentives of burdensome taxes and the stifling
structures of Labor's corporate state and
bureaucratic red tape.
•That, wherever possible, government should not
compete with an efficient private sector; and that
businesses and individuals - not government - are the
true creators of wealth and employment.
•In preserving Australia's natural beauty and the
environment for future generations.
•That our nation has a constructive role to play in
maintaining world peace and democracy through
alliance with other free nations.
•In
•In
those most basic freedoms of parliamentary
democracy - the freedom of thought, worship,
speech and association.
•In
a just and humane society in which the
importance of the family and the role of law and
justice is maintained.
•In
equal opportunity for all Australians; and the
encouragement and facilitation of wealth so that
all may enjoy the highest possible standards of
living, health, education and social justice.
«In short, we simply believe in individual freedom and free
enterprise; and if you share this belief, then ours is the Party
for you».

11.

Thank you for attention!