Young Liberals

From Freepedia

The Young Liberal Movement, or the Young Liberals, is the youth-division of the Liberal Party of Australia, and membership is open to those between 16 and 30 years of age. Young Liberals have full party-membership, and have the choice of which part they join. They are active in Liberal Party campaigning during all state and federal elections.

The Young Liberal Movement was first formed on 12 December, 1945, just a few months after the official inauguration of the Liberal Party on the 31 October in the same year, and, as for the Party proper, much of the credit for its creation can be attributed to Robert Menzies. The formation occurred through a meeting at the Melbourne Town Hall, at which 750 people were present.[1]

The Movement soon spread from Victoria to the other states of Australia, and by 1946 it played an important role in the electoral campaign of the Liberal Party.

The Young Liberals are referred to by some as "the conscience of the Liberal Party" due to the predominance of Liberal Party members with moderate viewpoints. However in recent times there has been a rise in the "religious right" in the administration of the division. In 2004, a convention in Hobart called for the life membership of former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser to be revoked.

The current national president of the Young Liberals is Alex Hawke.