A letter to the Victorian ALP

To whom it may concern,
I heard the Mr Bailleu on talkback radio this morning announcing his plans to regulate gaming and poker machines heavily. I am appalled by this proposal and am writing to express my heavy disappointment at the current direction of the Victorian Liberal party.

I am not a gambler, I do not use poker machines. But I am absolutely certain that the party has abandoned its philosphical origins and is no different to the socialist and regulatory principles of the ALP.

According to your website, you describe your platform as "The platform is the statement of essential principles based upon the Liberal philosophy. The policies are detailed statements of specific programs of action derived from the platform." But many of the proposed 2006 election policies violate classical liberal principles. I would not have imagined that the Liberal party could ever stand to regulate industry even more than the ALP, and support nanny-state welfarist approaches.

How can the party justify regulating the gaming industry when one of your policies is a belief in "A free enterprise economy that has a responsive government and is free of undue union influence is the best framework for these hopes to be realised." ?

You also have a state platform of "We believe that free enterprise will maximise economic growth and national prosperity.". Another state platform described is "We believe in the decentralisation and distribution of power and believe that local decisions are best made at the local level." How are these consistent with the current batch of socialist and regulatory policies proposed by the Liberal party ?

There are many other policies which violate all of your principles and are no different to the ALP. Environmental regulation, regulation of the water supply are radical power-centralising policies that belong to the Greens. Why should government be responsible for funding tourism, when the private sector handles it in a far more efficient and productive manner ? Where are your parties economic credentials ?

The Victorian Liberlas are also becoming socially authoritarian, with its plan to combat anti-social behaviour by handing over yet even more power to local councils and police. And to continue supporting the current oppressive anti-smoking laws shows that your party is no friend of freedom.

Why isn't your party fighting for freedom and power-decentralisation ? Why doesn't it fight the ALP's authoritarian restrictions on freedom of speech, on it's burdensome regulation of industry, on its wasteful public funding of grand sports projects, tourism ? Why does it believe in the socialist ideal of central planning, with dozens of proposed "plans to deal with" issues ?

The only proposed policies I support are the easing of speed camera laws and the deregulation proposed in "A fair go for small business" and "Cutting waste on government advertising" and cutting red tape on business. But individuals deserve freedom, and instead of increasingly taxing and spending, government should reduce its spending and hence its demand for more and more taxes.

At the moment, government is a leviathan intruding into our lives more than ever before. Local councils are given extraordinary powers over roads and parking restrictions than ever before, which harm all individuals.I will be voting for the party that promotes freedom at the next election.

Yours sincerely,
Jono