Tax cuts for flag-wavers among ideas touted by ACT Young Liberals

The youth arm of the Canberra Liberals will also debate adopting a position in favour of repealing urban forest laws in the ACT, which were introduced in an effort to expand the capital's tree canopy.

An agenda for a policy meeting later this month, seen by The Canberra Times, reveals the ACT Young Liberals' overwhelmingly conservative policy agenda, including the abolition of income tax and anti-abortion stances.

While the youth wing of the party does not directly set the agenda for the Canberra Liberals, the membership of the branch can have significant influence on the Canberra Liberals and provides a critical volunteer base for the election campaign.

The ACT Young Liberals will debate adopting a policy calling on a future federal Liberal government to establish an Australian pledge of allegiance that would be "mandatory for all Australian students to recite at the start of each school day".

A motion proposed by a former branch president includes adopting a policy in favour of establishing a "patriotism package", which would require every publicly owned institution to display at least four Australian flags.

The Young Liberals will debate a motion to "recognise the centrality of the Christian faith to Western culture" and "resolve to defend the legacy of Christianity in its contributions to Western and by extension Australian culture".

The party will also consider adopting a recommendation that the federal Liberal party support a pause on immigration "with the goal of bringing yearly immigration to zero for the next five years".

But the policy would include exceptions for people working in jobs that are "integral to the Australian economy" and where the employer could show they were unable to find a suitably skilled Australian citizen for the position.

Another motion calls on the Young Liberals to oppose the federal Labor government's proposed "A Future Made in Australia" legislation and the $13.7 billion in proposed tax credits.

The motion calls on the party to "recognise that the best way for government to support industry is not through subsidies and picking favourites, but by creating the environment for industry to succeed, such as through cutting and simplifying regulation or restoring industrial relations policy".

Another motion calls on the Young Liberals to unequivocally condemn pro-Palestine protesters who graffitied war memorials in Canberra and condemn the Greens for their support of the perpetrators.

A separate proposal calls for support to return Australian diplomatic representation to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, while another proposes integrating cybersecurity skills into the national school curriculum.

Members of the ACT branch of the Young Liberals will vote on the motions at a meeting later in July.

The activities of the youth wing - which is open to party members aged 16 to 30 - have previously mired the Canberra Liberals in controversy.

In 2021, the party was criticised for attending a ball organised by the Young Liberals where a lump of coal from a controversial mine in Queensland was auctioned.

Office bearers in the Young Liberals have a long history of going on to take up other positions within the party.

Alistair Coe, who was Canberra Liberals leader from 2016 to 2020, was president of the ACT Young Liberals in 2005-06. Candice Burch, a former Liberal member for Yerrabi, was president in 2014-15.

John Cziesla, who was a key ally of Zed Seselja and was dumped as party president in favour of an empty chair late last year, was president of the youth wing from 2000 to 2003.