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The Liberal Party of Australia

Policy source: Liberal Party of Australia's website

- Economy
- Small Business
- National Security
- Community
- Health
- Education
- Environment
- Regional
- Infrastructure

Economy
Economy



Tony Abbott and the Liberals stand for real action to end wasteful spending and real action to grow our economy.

The Liberal Party believes in a small government, but acknowledges that government has a role in raising taxes and other revenue, formulating laws and regulations, and spending money to achieve legitimate social objectives. However, they put forward that the government's powers to spend and to regulate need to be exercised with caution.

The Liberals push for taxation that is as low, fair and simple as possible.

The party believes in fiscal conservatism and will attempt to restore fiscal rectitude, by running a budget surplus over the cycle and repaying debt as quickly as possible.

A Liberal Government does not want to be involved in individual commercial business transactions, only assisting business when it needs to, in the national interest.

They believe the government has a duty to ensure government services are provided as efficiently as possible, so as to minimise taxation.

Taxation

The Liberals support a tax system that is easy to understand, which they plan to accomplish by rationalising and simplifying the current existing body of tax laws.

The Liberal Party advises it would closely examine proposals which would reduce the compliance burden of revenue collection on households and business, as it thinks taxation ought to be easy to administer, efficient and cost effective.

The Liberals advise their tax reform will involve broadening the tax base, removing unfair and inefficient taxes, reducing complexity and simplifying deductions, encouraging national savings, and overhauling the interaction between the welfare and tax systems.

Liberal Party’s economic principles
Liberal Party’s economic policy


Small Business
Small Business



Small business, the Liberals believe, is the driving force of Australia's economy, underpinning growth and innovation and providing jobs for millions of Australians. Tony Abbott and the Liberals stand for action to keep costs down and protect small businesses from union bullying. They advise they intend to always back small business to grow our economy and create jobs.

The Liberals support actions which reduce the burden of "red tape" on small business, as they consider small business to be a testament to the values of a liberal society.

Liberal Party's small business policy


National Security
National Security



Immigration

A Liberal Government would secure our borders, stamp out people smuggling and deter illegal arrivals while treating refugees compassionately in accordance with the Refugees Convention.

The party will ensure that unauthorised arrivals are intercepted and processed at Christmas Island, not on the Australian mainland.

The Liberals plan to introduce a non-permanent visa for asylum seekers arriving without authorisation, rather than permanent residency. They will also maintain Australia's compassionate and fair system for legitimate refugees, as this favours those most in need.

If Tony Abbott is elected to govern, where circumstances permit and vessels can be safely secured, a Liberal Government will return boats and/or their passengers to their point of departure or an alternative third country destination.

Liberal Party's immigration policy

Population
The Liberal Party's policy on population aims to establish a credible and independent source of advice on population growth - through the extension of the role of the Productivity Commission to advise on population sustainability issues.

The party intends to listen to Australians through an independent inquiry to be undertaken by the Commission to establish a new benchmark of community attitudes on where to go from here on future population growth.

A Liberal government intends to establish a population growth band target, developed on the basis of Commission advice to inform migration planning, which takes into account our capacity to handle growth in areas such as infrastructure, water, energy and food security and environmental sustainability.

The Liberal Party aspires to increase transparency in decision making, by introducing population planning into the budget process.

Supporting Australian business will be a key target for the Liberals, they intend to do this by ensuring skilled migration remains the primary focus of our migration intake.

Liberal Party's population policy
Liberal Party's national security policies


Community
Community



Paid Parental Leave Scheme

The Liberal Party will aim to support families by introducing a Paid Parental Leave Scheme, providing primary carers with 26 weeks paid parental leave at full replacement pay (up to a maximum of $150,000 per annum) or the Federal Minimum Wage.

The Liberals' scheme will be available to all employees, including contractors and the self-employed, and will include mandatory superannuation payments.

The Paid Parental Leave Scheme will be funded with a levy of up to 1.7 per cent on companies which have a taxable income in excess of $5 million. Small businesses will not pay the levy or administer it.

Liberal Party's Paid Parental Leave Scheme
Liberal Party's community policy

Seniors

The Liberals value the contribution to our community made by older Australians, carers and veterans, and understand the challenges they face each day. They believe it is only right that they receive the support necessary to secure better living standards and greater peace of mind.

Liberal Party's senior policy


Health
Health



Tony Abbott and the Liberals stand for direct action to put decision-making on hospitals back in the hands of local doctors and nurses. They believe that all Australians should have access to an affordable, quality health care system regardless of whether they live in the city or in regional areas.

Private Health

The Liberal Party believes there will be no improvement in the standards of treatment in our hospitals unless Australia has a strong private and public health system.

Private health insurance is therefore essential to keep pressure off the public hospitals.

Every private health insurance patient who receives treatment in a private hospital bed means one more public hospital bed available for others in the community.

The Liberals are committed to private health insurance. They reiterate their introduction of the 30 per cent Private Health Insurance Rebate.

The Liberals will not recommend means-testing the private health rebate as it may result in fewer people with private health insurance and place additional pressure on the already stretched public hospital system.

Liberal Party's health policy

Mental Health

Tony Abbott has pledged that a Liberal government will invest $1.5 billion for mental health, to build 20 early intervention centres and 60 'headspace' sites for young patients, and to create 800 specialised beds.

The money would be funded from Labor's health deals with the states and from slashing some programs such as extra GP super clinics.

Liberal Party's mental health policy


Education
Education



The Liberal Party believes all Australian children deserve a high quality education that enables them to develop the skills necessary to be able to realise their potential. The Liberal Party supports parental school choice. They will not punish parents for investing in their children's education.

The Liberals are committed to long-term, ongoing reform of the higher education sector aimed at giving students more choice, and universities more freedom and flexibility to respond to changing circumstances.

The Liberal Party supports the goal of increasing participation by students from lower socio-economic backgrounds in higher education.

They believe we should focus our efforts on increasing the demand for higher education places among students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

A Liberal government intends to reduce red tape, allowing principals and school governing councils the independence to take direct action.

The Liberals intend to work with the states to give principals the right to pay the best teachers more.

They are focused on tertiary options including vocational and training options, industry accredited vocational education, school-based apprenticeships and traineeships; which are designed to open up the pathways for all to post-school education, training and employment options.

The Liberals stress Vocational and Educational Training (VET) pathways for retraining of the existing workforce are a priority in an era where rapid adjustments to economic challenges are required.

Liberal Party's education policy


Environment
Environment



To combat climate change the Liberal Party stresses Australia needs a scheme which will reduce overall carbon emissions while preserving Australian industries and jobs.

The Liberals have released a direct action plan to deal with the economic and environmental challenges of climate change.

The Liberal Party's stand is that direct action is the best approach for dealing with climate change in Australia in the absence of a global market-based mechanism. They also encourage all countries to undertake their best endeavours on a level playing field to deal with climate change.

A Liberal government will tackle land degradation issues and repair and restore our environment by establishing - within four years - a 15,000 strong permanent workforce dedicated to protecting our environment and adjusting to climate change. Tony Abbott's party is against a large carbon emissions tax and an Emissions Trading Scheme.

Liberals instead support an Emissions Reduction Fund which they expect to directly support CO2 emissions reduction activities by businesses and industries.

In order to achieve a five per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020, the Fund intends to support direct action to hold our national CO2 emissions to a target of approximately 525 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per annum by 2020, attempting to match Labor's five per cent emissions reductions target.

A Liberal government plans to not impose liabilities but to instead provide incentives.

The Liberals propose to have such a scheme in place by 1 July 2011 and it will proceed until at least 2020, subject to review in 2015.

Liberal Party's environmental policy


Regional
Regional



The Liberals are committed to fighting for Australians in rural and regional areas, they claim they understand the unique challenges faced across the country. Above all, they will recommend with issues such as agriculture, communications and health services, decisions will be made in Canberra which are in tune with the needs of the bush.

Liberal Party's regional policy


Infrastructure
Infrastructure



The Liberals believe infrastructure is about getting things done, not just talking about it. The party plans to fight for more action on transport, broadband and other key investments in the future.

The Liberal party acknowledges the importance of modern telecommunications for all Australians – from families keeping in touch, small businesses working with clients across the nation to farmers watching market movements around the globe. The Liberals believe reliable telecommunication is a necessity, not a luxury and their policies will support this opinion.

A Liberal government would cancel the National Broadband Network deal, claiming it is a risky and hugely expensive venture that should not have been contemplated in the first place.

The Liberal Party has advised it does not believe it is the role of government to force taxpayers to spend billions of dollars to build and/or buy businesses in areas where the private sector is able to perform the role.

Tony Abbott has advised that prior to the election a responsible alternative policy to deliver fast, reliable and affordable broadband will be announced.

Liberal Party's infrastructure policy