May 1999

The Liberal philosophy of Government has always been a living thing. That means we apply our basic ideas to the problems of the present and the challenges of the future. We are not guided by short-term politics or personal popularity like the ALP but are a pragmatic party, constantly revising our goals and policies to remain relevant.

Above all, the Liberal principles, particularly in Government, have been to pursue progress and action.

It was John F. Kennedy who rightly said "there are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction".

The Liberal Party has never sat on its heels. It has been a dynamic party, a party of initiative and has usually presided over periods of great economic expansion and prosperity.

The broad ideals of the Party have not changed since Menzies’ days, nor should they. However, our ideas - our policies, our structures - must. So, too, should politicians.

It’s over 50 years since the Party was formed and in that time Australia has changed greatly. Our Party was founded on a branch structure, but in days when there was no TV to keep people at home at night, when there were far fewer women in the workforce, far less demands on people's time and when the outlook of the country and the attitudes of the people were very different.

We had come through the War successfully and people were used to working together for a common cause, wanting to get on with their lives, build their homes and re-establish their careers. Unemployment was non-existent and many of the social problems of today were either non-existent or went unrecognised.

Today, life is more complicated.

People expect more of their Governments (indeed many still think Governments can solve all the problems). They want their politicians to be more in touch, more responsive and there is a dire need to rebuild trust between politicians and community.

The media, too, has made politicians much more accountable. We have well organised pressure groups. And people are better informed through the media and technology (the Internet).

So as a political Party we need to keep improving our structures to put us ahead of the changes.

But our future does not lie in short term fixes, but in looking ahead and in embracing the challenges and changes of the new millenium - things like the globalisation of business, the emergence of electronic commerce and information technology.

Our future also lies in weaving the new ideas of our young people with the experience of our older people to produce a better Party and a better nation.

Change is with us all and it is also up to us to take the community with us to meet change head on, use it to our advantage and persuade people to look over the horizon.

We must continue taking a pragmatic approach in what we plan for today, yet continue to renew, to reinvent ourselves and to reinvigorate our Party for the new millenium.

Imagination -some call it ‘vision’ - is a powerful capacity.

Without it much of what we regard as commonplace today never would have seen the light of day. We must, as a Party, move ahead of traditional analysis of identifying a standard situation and applying a standard solution. We must be revolutionary, not reactionary. Search for a new way of thinking and have the courage and will to take risks.

Liberalism as a philosophy will not change in the new millenium. But our application of its principles must.

Liberals Looking to the 21st Century
See also Directions Speech 1997

Victor Perton 2 May 1999