The Liberal Democratic Party is an Australian political party, founded in 2001, that adheres to free-market principles broadly comparable to those of the United States Libertarian Party. The party has divisions in four states and is registered in the Australian Capital Territory, though it currently lacks the 500 members required for federal registration.
The LDP's official platform does not fit easily into the traditional left-right dichotomy. It takes a strongly laissez-faire approach to economics, but has socially liberal policies on civil liberties and such things as the legal regulation of drugs and sex.
At the first elections they contested, in 2001 in the ACT, the LDP ran seven candidates and polled 1% of the vote, outnumbering and defeating most minor parties and independents. They had a slight improvement in their results in the 2004 ACT elections, but did not run candidates in the federal elections of that year.
In early 2002, the LDP joined together with the People Power political party, a group then associated with the popular political ezine Crikey, to form a combined federal executive.
The LDP is loosely associated with the liberals for forests party.
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