About Us

 

The Outdoor Recreation Party values the natural environment within the context of a prosperous society based on respect for individual freedom, personal responsibility, small government and the defence of private property.

 

The Outdoor Recreation Party is smart green, not extreme green.

 

Extreme greens believe the environment is more important than people.

 

Smart greens believe there is nothing inherently superior about the "natural" environment, and that ultimately people matter most.

 

Extreme greens believe only the government can protect the environment.

 

Smart greens believe good environmental outcomes can be achieved in various ways, with private ownership often preferred.

 

Extreme greens rely on the power of the government to impose their values, through rules, regulations and police enforcement.

 

Smart greens believe the best outcomes are achieved when individuals act voluntarily, each making their own decisions and accepting responsibility for the consequences.

 

Extreme greens oppose technology and innovation with slogans and faith-based rhetoric.

 

Smart greens prefer an evidence-based approach based on the power of technology to do good.

 

People

 

David Leyonhjelm

The Party's lead candidate for the Upper House ticket in 2011 will be David Leyonhjelm.

 

David has had an interest in politics since the early 1970s when, as a member of Young Labor, he worked on the It's Time campaign to help end military conscription.

 

The following decade he joined the Liberal Party in an effort to promote economic freedom, resigning in 1996 in disgust at John Howard's extremist gun laws.

 

He joined the Shooters Party in 1992 (while in the Liberal Party), became the party's Chairman in 1999 and managed the successful 2003 campaign that retained the party's NSW Legislative Council seat.

 

When the Shooters Party was deregistered by the AEC just prior to the federal election in 2004, he enlisted the Outdoor Recreation Party to run a team for the Senate and marginal NSW seats. The party's Senate preferences helped prevent the Greens from taking the final seat.

 

Throughout his life, David has adopted a classical liberal outlook in which individual choice and freedom are preferred to government intervention. He believes in a substantial reduction in rules, regulations and taxation.  

 

David is married and has an agribusiness consulting company based in Sydney. A former veterinarian, he also has degrees in business and law. He owns a 4WD which he uses to reach his remotely located farm where he hunts feral pigs, foxes and rabbits. He also enjoys motorcycle riding and competitive target shooting.

 

Peter Whelan

Peter Whelan is the President of the Outdoor Recreation Party and will also be a candidate in 2011.

 

Peter is a 66 year old farmer, businessman, investor and family man (6 granddaughters), with qualifications in electrical engineering. He holds a private pilot’s licence, is an active sporting shooter, a hunter of foxes, rabbits and deer, and enjoys playing golf.

He lives in Glenorie and is Treasurer of Glenorie RSL Club (the friendly little club in the bush). He is also National President of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Peter strongly believes in the principles of free enterprise, individual responsibility, small government and low taxes. 

 

"We believe Australians are sick of being told what to do by politicians and bureaucrats. We want to get the government off our backs and out of our pockets. That includes reversing the tide of green bureaucracy and intrusive laws that plague those seeking to enjoy the outdoors."

 

David Leyonhjelm (left) and Peter Whelan at the 4WD Adventure Show in Sydney in August 2010.