David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Liberal Democrats are not led by a rotund supporter of the renewable energy target who is, apparently, spending $50 million telling people he wants to lower electricity prices. We are not led by someone who accepted a liver transplant due to alcoholism and who recently fell out of a car somehow. We are not led by a fiery redhead who has more trouble keeping colleagues than sorting out a position on company tax. We are led by me, someone who has consistently voted in favour of lower taxes, less spending, less red tape and regulation and, of course, lower electricity prices over the last five years.

The major parties don't stand for anything. Labor long ago stopped fighting for workers other than that small handful holding positions in unions. They no longer respect the legacy of Hawke and Keating, that workers are better off when the economy is free to operate. The Greens are self-righteous closet dictators more concerned with what group you belong to than the content of your character. The Nationals are still agrarian socialists at heart who won't stand up to their coalition partner. And the Liberals have lost all connection with their founding principles and are anything but liberal.

The Liberal Democrats are the only real liberal party in Australia. The Liberal Democrats support lower taxes across the board: lower taxes on your fuel and cars, lower taxes on your alcohol and tobacco, lower taxes on your imports and international travel, lower taxes on your investments and savings, and, above all, lower taxes on your take-home pay. The Liberal Democrats have a fully costed and fully funded policy for all Australians to enjoy, a $40,000 tax-free threshold and a flat 20 per cent income tax after that. That would provide a huge tax cut for every taxpayer in Australia.

The Liberal Democrats are the only real liberal party in Australia. We are realists about the failings of the war on drugs. We support your right to end your own life, if you freely choose to do so, and with assistance if required. We support getting the government out of your bedroom and other aspects of your private life. The Liberal Democrats are the only real liberal party in Australia. We are the only defenders of Western civilisation and its legacy, a legacy of markets rather than central command, a legacy of equality before the law rather than the prejudice of affirmative action, a legacy of civil liberties rather than a police state, and a legacy of celebrating individual freedom and responsibility rather than the stultifying cloak of group identity and collectivism.

The Liberal Democrats can't afford to plaster Australia's billboards with my ugly mug, so I ask voters to not just vote for the Liberal Democrats but to ask your family and friends to do the same. The Liberal Democrats are a serious political party, an honest political party. We consistently stand up for liberal values, and we are defenders of what makes Australia great. The Liberal Democrats are the only real liberal party in Australia.