Liberals for Forests

liberals for forests is an Australian political minor party. It has contested both state and federal elections in recent years, but has only achieved one elected representative - Janet Woollard (elected as an Independent) in Western Australia. It has no representation at the federal level.

The party was founded in 2001 by Dr Keith Woollard, husband of Janet Woollard and an ex-AMA president.

The Party generally professes itself to be ideologically aligned with the centre-right sympathies of the Liberal Party of Australia, but with a greater regard to environmentalism.

Despite its low profile, the party has gained a respectable proportion of the primary Senate vote in some states. For example, in the 2004 election it received only a few hundred votes less than the Australian Democrats in Victoria.

Dirty Tricks

The party has been accused of a number of dirty tricks in NSW. Allegations persist that Liberals for Forests colluded with Labor to defeat Coalition candidates in the seats of Parramatta and Richmond.

These allegations include that ALP members were involved in the distribution of Liberals for Forests how to vote cards, which were printed with the word 'Liberals' in big, bold font and the 'for Forests' phrase in tiny print underneath, tricking many voters, particularly elderly voters with vision problems in the federal electorated of Richmond- a coastal rural seat on the NSW/QLD border where there is a large proportion of retirees. The Liberal/National Coalition's Larry Anthony held the seat as a member of the National Party and because there was no "Liberal" competing against him LFF were able to draw Liberal Party voters away from supporting the coalition by directing their instant runoff preferences the opposition Labor candidate.

In Parramatta LFF contributed to the swing which removed Liberal incumbent Ross Cameron where foreign backpackers were hired to distributed how to vote material which encouraged voters to put Labor ahead of both the Greens and the conservationist single issue Save the ADI Site party.

The registered party name at the Australian Electoral Commission ^{[http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/Who/party_reg/registered/lff.htm]} and the Western Australian Electoral Commission ^{[http://www.waec.wa.gov.au/frames.asp?section=partyRegistration&content=reg_pol_part.htm]} is "liberals for forests" (uncapitalised).

ee also

*Small-l liberal - a term used by LFF candidates to describe themselves in order to attract the support of mildly disenchanted Coalition voters

External links

* [http://www.liberalsfor.forests.org.au/ Liberals for Forests] official site