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Young Liberals (Australia)

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Young Liberal Movement
Party PresidentTrent Hasson
Founded1945
HeadquartersCanberra
IdeologyConservative liberalism,
Liberal conservatism,
New Right
International affiliationInternational Young Democrat Union
Website
Young Liberal Movement

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 Trent Hasson from Tasmania and the current Federal Vice President of the Young Liberals is Sam Duluk 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".[1]

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 Menzies. The formation occurred through a meeting at the Melbourne Town Hall, at which 750 people were present.[2] 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. [3]

Criticism

In 2005, the Young Liberals in Melbourne attracted media attention for their behaviour at social functions and accusations of rivalry between the Australian Liberal Students' Federation and the Young Liberal movement.[4]

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."[5] 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.[5] 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.[6]

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." [7] 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."[7]

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.[8]

In April 2010, Nick Sowden, a Young Liberal National party member from Queensland, likened US President Barack Obama to a monkey on his Twitter account. After a backlash, Sowden responded by saying that 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. [9]. 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”.[10][11]

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.[12][13] The Young Liberals were motivated by comments by former Prime Minister John Howard who said "The left-liberal grip on educational institutions and large, though not all, sections of the media remains intense".[14] The President of the Young Liberals said that his organisation wanted a "a charter of academic freedom to promote intellectual diversity" [15]

Response

In response to this campaign, the Senate announced an Inquiry into Academic Freedom [16] in June 2008 with the Inquiry Into Academic Freedom - Parliament of Australia terms of reference. In calling the enquiry, Victorian Liberal Senator Mitch Fifield said that he was disturbed by students' reports of academic bias.[12]

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."[13]

Others described the campaign as a "witch hunt" or McCarthyism, and as an attack on the professionalism of academics.[17]

In response to Make Education Fair, the National Tertiary Education Union said "there is no evidence of widespread left-wing bias" [18] and launched its own campaign entitled "Academic Freedom Watch".[19] The President of the NTEU dismissed the accusation that academics are running their own agendas in the classroom as "nonsense".[14]

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"[20]

References

  1. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  2. ^ Australian Young Liberals. "About the YLM - Young Liberal Movement of Australia". Youngliberal.org. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  3. ^ Johnson, Stephen (31 July 2011). "Right loses grip on NSW Young Liberals".
  4. ^ "Feathers fly at Young Liberals' shindig - National". Melbourne: theage.com.au. 2 August 2005. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  5. ^ a b Cohen, Janine (17 July 2006). "Program Transcript - The Right Stuff". Four Corners. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  6. ^ Cohen, Janine (17 July 2006). "Interview - Dr John Hewson". Four Corners. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  7. ^ a b Devine, Miranda (20 July 2006). "Rough play won't spoil the party". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  8. ^ Stewart, John (19 July 2006). "Footage released of 'racist' Young Liberals". Sydney: Lateline. Retrieved 19 June 2008. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-04-16/obama-monkey-slur-a-joke-says-young-lib/398462
  10. ^ See: As Future Leaders Go Not Much to Rejoice About, Bella Counihan, National Times, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times, June 1st, http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/as-future-leaders-go-not-much-to-rejoice-about-20100601-wrsr.html
  11. ^ 31 May 2010, http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/1061805/barnaby-joyce-apologies-for-gough-sledge
  12. ^ a b 25 June 2008 12:00AM (25 June 2008). "Libs push for bias probe | The Australian". Theaustralian.news.com.au. Retrieved 9 July 2010.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ a b http://www.younglibs.org.au/site/images/stories/mef/080309_sunday_telegraph_dob_in_lefty_teachers.pdf
  14. ^ a b "Meet the new vanguard in culture wars - National". smh.com.au. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  15. ^ 23 April 2008 12:00AM (23 April 2008). "Students mark down party line | The Australian". Theaustralian.news.com.au. Retrieved 9 July 2010.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Senate tests academic freedom - Herald Sun". News.com.au. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  17. ^ Josephine Tovey (10 October 2008). "Academics rally against Young Liberal 'witch-hunt'". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
  18. ^ "Tertiary union denies accusations of left-wing bias - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  19. ^ "The World Today - Inquiry into academic freedom accused of bias". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  20. ^ "Young Liberals on university 'witch-hunt' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
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