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The Australian Liberal Students' Federation is a political grouping within the National Union of 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 often simply Young Liberals. Most, if not all, members of the ALSF are members of the youth wing of the Liberal Party, but the ALSF itself is not formally affiliated with the party.
The faction is organised along the basis of campus Liberal clubs, with the various clubs affiliating nationally, wielding candidates and voting as a club.
While not a very significant faction electorally, the ALSF is one of the most vocal and controversial groups within the NUS organisation. Its central policy platform is the principle of Voluntary Student Unionism, and it wholeheartedly supports the reforms to Australian Higher Education introduced by Dr. Brendan Nelson. 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.
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.
The ALSF responds that the Conference does not permit freedom of speech and despite preaching tolerance, the left act to gag dissident opinions.
The ALSF's current President is Julian Barendse, of the University of Melbourne.
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