Australian Liberal Students Federation

The Australian Liberal Students' Federation (ALSF) is a political grouping of university students informally associated with the Liberal Party of Australia. As such, it is the only major openly conservative force within Australian student politics. The grouping is frequently referred to as Liberal students or simply Young Liberals. Most members of the ALSF are members of the Liberal Party, but the ALSF itself is not formally affiliated with the party.

Related Topics:
Liberal Party of Australia - Conservative - Australia

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Liberal Students, as do the senior Coalition parties in Australia, avoid usage of the terms faction and caucus to describe themselves, viewing them as being too strongly associated with the Labor Party.

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The Federation is organised along the basis of campus Liberal clubs, with the various clubs affiliating nationally, wielding candidates and voting as a club. State affiliated bodies also exist and they in turn act as state divisions of the federation. These include the New South Wales Liberal Students' Associaiton (NSWLSA), the Victorian Liberal Students' Associaiotn (VLSA), the South Australian Liberal Students (SALS) and the West Australian Union of Liberal Students (WAULS).

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ALSF exists independently of NUS, holding twice annual conferences. At the July conference the executive is elected by delegates from the consituent university Liberal clubs of the ALSF, which exist in differing levels of strength at virtually every University campus around the country.

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Though not usually holding a significant number of NUS delegate positions, the ALSF is nevertheless one of the most vocal and controversial groups within the National Union of Students (NUS) organisation. Its central policy platform is the principle of Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) and it wholeheartedly supports the reforms to Australian Higher Education introduced by Dr. Brendan Nelson (the federal Minister for Education, Science and Training). It is viciously anti-Labor and asserts NUS to be simply an excuse for Labor students to spend students' money on political campaigns. The ALSF supports increased deregulation of the tertiary sector, and, particularly with the implementation of VSU, presents itself as being an advocate for freedom of choice within universities.

Related Topics:
National Union of Students - Voluntary Student Unionism - Brendan Nelson - Labor

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No other faction carries the notoriety attached to the ALSF at NUS National Conference. Viewing virtually all of the proceedings as a complete waste of time, Liberal students use various methods to disrupt the conference, including waving flags and placards, singing various inflammatory songs, and generally behaving in a manner designed to provoke outrage from the left. Past incidents have seen the group permanently banned from the conference accommodation at the University of Ballarat, though this ban has been lifted for the 2005 conference - if NUS is in a financial position for that conference to occur given the potential pending introduction of VSU legislation.

Related Topics:
Left - University of Ballarat

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The ALSF responds that the Conference does not permit freedom of speech and despite preaching tolerance, the left act to gag dissident opinions.

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As of 2005, the ALSF President is Julian Barendse, of the University of Melbourne, who was re-elected unopposed to the position at the ALSF's AGM on Friday, 8 July 2005.

Related Topics:
As of 2005 - Julian Barendse - University of Melbourne

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