Is Australia Friendlier to Libertarianism Than the U.S.? - Hit & Run : Reason.com - J.D. Tucille:
March 27, 2014 - "Libertarianism is a thing, the headlines tell us — and that seems to be true now that two libertarian-leaning lawmakers occupy seats in the Senate. Wait...two senators? Yes, two: Senator David Leyonhjelm from New South Wales and Senator Bob Day from South Australia. After their election, The Australian proclaimed them 'two home-grown Ron Pauls'.
"Leyonhjelm ... is the more overtly libertarian of the two, favoring marijuana legalization, lower taxes, same-sex marriage, and smaller government. He was elected as a candidate of the classical liberal/libertarian Liberal Democratic Party. A quote on his Facebook page boasts, 'But there are two guiding principles that determine our approach to legislation—we would never vote for an increase in taxes and we would never vote for a reduction in liberty.'
"Day has a long history of free-market activism and was a board member of the libertarian Centre for Independent Studies, but he was elected as the candidate (and chairman) of the populist/social conservative Family First Party. Even so, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 'Libertarianism appeals to the innate desire to be free, to be liberated; people essentially want to be left alone to enjoy the fruits of their labour.'
"That article quoting Day also noted that 'the former policy director of libertarian think tank The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) has been appointed Human Rights Commissioner.' The IPA has been called out during parliamentary question time as a 'sinister' behind-the-scenes player in Australian policy making — specifically, in revising the Racial Discrimination Act to strengthen free speech protections — so it's apparently having an impact."
Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2014/03/27/is-australia-friendlier-to-libertarianis
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March 27, 2014 - "Libertarianism is a thing, the headlines tell us — and that seems to be true now that two libertarian-leaning lawmakers occupy seats in the Senate. Wait...two senators? Yes, two: Senator David Leyonhjelm from New South Wales and Senator Bob Day from South Australia. After their election, The Australian proclaimed them 'two home-grown Ron Pauls'.
"Leyonhjelm ... is the more overtly libertarian of the two, favoring marijuana legalization, lower taxes, same-sex marriage, and smaller government. He was elected as a candidate of the classical liberal/libertarian Liberal Democratic Party. A quote on his Facebook page boasts, 'But there are two guiding principles that determine our approach to legislation—we would never vote for an increase in taxes and we would never vote for a reduction in liberty.'
"Day has a long history of free-market activism and was a board member of the libertarian Centre for Independent Studies, but he was elected as the candidate (and chairman) of the populist/social conservative Family First Party. Even so, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 'Libertarianism appeals to the innate desire to be free, to be liberated; people essentially want to be left alone to enjoy the fruits of their labour.'
"That article quoting Day also noted that 'the former policy director of libertarian think tank The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) has been appointed Human Rights Commissioner.' The IPA has been called out during parliamentary question time as a 'sinister' behind-the-scenes player in Australian policy making — specifically, in revising the Racial Discrimination Act to strengthen free speech protections — so it's apparently having an impact."
Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2014/03/27/is-australia-friendlier-to-libertarianis
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