The Libertarian Party of Queensland (LPQ) (ABN 6926 0936 834) is a standalone political party affiliated with the federal Libertarian Party, having been formed at an inaugural general meeting on 16 July 2023 from the previous Queensland Division of the Liberal Democratic Party.

In Queensland, the absence of an Upper House of Parliament and consequently the absence of any form of group voting outside of Senate elections largely relegates minor political parties to competing (usually unsuccessfully) against the political majors. Consequently, Queensland is not politically amenable to minor parties which mostly focus on easier targets in other states. Initially, the party had one small branch in Queensland which met in or around the centre of Brisbane. These meetings served a dual purpose of a State Executive meeting as well as informal member discussions.

Due to the efforts of three consecutive State Presidents – Andrew Cooper (2015-17) who was the first State President to take a strategic perspective on membership attraction, renewal, and in campaigning, Nicholas Umershev (2017-18) who separated the State Executive and Brisbane Branch meeting processes, and Lloyd Russell (2018-21) who brought a strategic focus and rigour to resources, governance and accountability, the party commenced its growth and maturity by focusing on the development of localised branches. During 2019, the State Executive recognised the need to develop a leadership pipeline and implemented strategies to identify and mentor potential leaders. 

During 2019, the party also attempted registration with ECQ (Electoral Commission of Queensland) as a political party in Queensland, but was unsuccessful, falling short of the 500 members required, despite an extensive social media recruitment campaign financed by a prominent donor.

The first three branches to emerge were Brisbane, South Brisbane (Logan) and Sunshine Coast, which saw an increase in candidates and volunteers in the Longman (federal) by-election and the 2019 federal election. Following this success, branches in Ipswich, Redcliffe and on the Gold Coast developed. This increased interest in the libertarian movement was driven by the draconian responses to COVID and the subsequent erosion of personal freedom. This network of six formal branches and a spread of members across regional Queensland drove the 2022 federal election campaign, which saw a record number of candidates contest nine (9) lower house seats and Campbell Newman, former Lord Mayor of Brisbane and former Premier of Queensland, contest the Senate.

In between the 2019 and 2022 federal elections, the LPQ contested a number of Local Government Wards with strong performances in two of the Ipswich Wards. Mr. Anthony Bull missed out on election by a few hundred votes. Anthony has emerged as a leader within the party and has held various positions, including State President here in Queensland (2021-23), and President of the federal party since 2024.

After the 2022 federal election, at the Federal AGM in Sydney in 2022, Anthony Bull successfully put a motion on behalf of all members to establish a Reform Committee to recommend a national reform and major constitutional change process and reporting directly to the membership. This Committee fulfilled its function, and the new federal constitution was adopted at the 2023 federal AGM held in Melbourne. At this same AGM the “Libertarian” name was adopted by a vote of financial members. These decisions enabled and directly led to the formation of the Libertarian Party of Queensland with a constitution which mirrors the federal constitution.

Since July 2023, LPQ has developed strong organisational structures at the branch and State levels, increased its membership and achieved State registration through ECQ, submitting a list of 1,551 members with proven matches to the electoral rolls on 14th June 2024. Within that 12-month period financial membership in Queensland has grown from 11.7% of the party financial membership throughout Australia, up to around 20% which is representative of Queensland’s proportion of Australia’s population.

During 2024, the Gold Coast Branch was awarded Top Branch in Australia by the federal Libertarian Party.

The Libertarian Party of Queensland looks forward with confidence to a bright future of growing political influence, built upon a strong organisational foundation and enduring principles embedded in its Constitution.