TNL (political party)

Victor Kline and three friends founded The New Liberals in response to what they saw as "a government that had apparently mastered the art of bare-faced corruption and an opposition that seemed incapable of calling them out". Kline has claimed that the word "liberal" has been twisted into a misnomer by the Liberal Party of Australia, and that many moderate disaffected Liberal and ex-Liberal voters have been attracted to The New Liberals.

The party's registration was approved by the Australian Electoral Commission on 3 June 2021.[1] This was despite the Liberal Party of Australia's attempts to block it due to the similarity in party names and causing potential confusion in electors.[6][7] However, due to changes to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 regarding party names, this decision was overturned by the Australian Electoral Commission and the party's registration was revoked on 7 December 2021.[8] The party was re-registered again simply as TNL on 17 March 2022.[9]

Some of the party's key policies include:[4]

• A federal anti corruption commission.[10] TNL proposed Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) would have the power to investigate and prosecute politicians, judges and bureaucrats who are found to be corrupt or who act in dereliction of their duty. The ICAC would be run by a board of commissioners who are respected and prominent citizens. None of these citizens would be from any of the three branches of Australian government. A special court would be set up to hear ICAC trials. The trials would be by jury, not by judge alone. Penalties for anyone convicted would include imprisonment and/or fines.
• A climate policy with the goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030.[11] According to TNL, the world must reach net zero emissions by 2030 to delay any further risk of harm to the planet. The policy is based on the strategies and modelling undertaken by ClimateWorks Australia in their publication 'Decarbonisation Futures: Solutions, actions and benchmarks for a net zero emissions Australia'.[12] The policy sets out in detail how to decarbonise and incorporate zero-emission technologies into key sectors including: electricity generation, commercial and residential buildings, transport, industry, agriculture and land. Under the proposed policy, the outcomes would be compatible with a global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius and reach a net zero emission position for Australia by 2030.
• A full employment and job guarantee scheme (JGS).[13] The New Liberals see the right to work as a human right and have developed a policy for full employment. The policy aims 'to provide decent jobs at decent pay on demand to all individuals of legal working age who want to work.' Jobs would be created in close proximity to where the unemployed live and would be suitable to people of varied education and skill levels. The JGS would offer a living wage set at 60% of the median Australian wage or $1,028.40 per week or $53,476.80 per year. The program is completely voluntary but will offer permanent full-time employment. Those who choose not to be employed by the JGS will still be able to access unemployment benefits. Australian citizens are currently able to register for the JGS via TNL website.[14] Those who register will be ensured of early placement in the Scheme.

• Leader: Victor Kline (July 2019 – present)[15][16]

In the 2020 Eden-Monaro by-election, Karen Porter ran as an Independent under the New Liberals banner.[17] Porter received 1.28% of votes.[18]

As of 20 March 2022, TNL has endorsed 19 candidates in five states for the 2022 federal election, in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.[19]

In June 2021, Kline announced that he, along with party candidate and former prosecutor Vania Holt, would be pursuing a private criminal case against Christian Porter over the historical rape allegations he is facing.[20][21]

• Official website
• Wikinews interviews Victor Kline, leader of newly registered The New Liberals party in Australia at Wikinews