On August 3rd, 2025, Libertarian member of the NSW Legislative council, John Ruddick, allegedly abandoned libertarianism and abandoned his christian faith. On that fateful day, John - allegedly - became a Muslim; and a Marxist; and an antisemite; and a violent terrorist. If this sounds dubious to you, that’s good. Because it is nonsense. Obviously. John’s beliefs and values have not changed. He still stands out as one of the few sane, rational, intelligent and well-informed minds in contemporary Australian politics.However, if you have been infected with the new right-wing woke mind-virus, you might believe John really has turned into a monster? You might believe that such a transformation is not only possible, but occurs in anybody who asks a legitimate question about what is going on in Gaza?John caused aneurysm’s among sufferers of the right-wing woke mind-virus recently when he not only questioned the situation in Gaza, he attended a protest against the genocide there. His actions - walking in a protest and talking amicably to people - blew up the internet with abuse and criticism. So I spoke to John about what he was protesting for, the definition of ‘genocide’ according to the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and whether that is the situation in Gaza?0:00 Intro4:48 Why Did John Protest?14:08 Qualifying a ‘Genocide’24:27 Why is Israel exceptional?34:52 Libertarian position on war Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
The Australian government recently announced its proud adoption of the WHO’s divisive Pandemic Agreement. Fortunately, they are not telling the truth about that.The revised pandemic agreement is slightly less horrifying than the original Pandemic Treaty. But that is not really true either. The truth is, many of the most concerning terms from the original Pandemic Treaty have been moved into amendments to the WHO International Health Regulations (IHR). But the WHO did not truthfully disclose what had been amended. (NOTE: the US government just rejected the IHR amendments to avoid them applying to the US. The Australian government did not reject them; and now it is too late).Everything about the WHO and its pandemic agreement is cloaked in dishonesty. So I spoke to an expert - James Roguski - about what is really going on. If you enjoyed wearing 2 masks, as you drove alone to the PCR testing station, on your way to get your 75th booster, so your vaccine passport app would show a green tick, so you could enter a supermarket, during your 1 hour lockdown reprieve each day, you are going to love what the WHO has in store for the future. If you did not care for that whole Covid episode, you should probably watch this episode of the Liberty Itch Podcast.You can read the WHO pandemic agreement here:https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA78/A78_10-en.pdfAnd you can find James Roguski here on Substack: https://substack.com/@jamesroguskiTIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro9:29 Problems in 202113:38 IHR Deadline16:30 Pandemic agreement23:51 The business model27:01 IHR Amendements33:18 Pandemic Emergencies45:48 Infodemics48:50 Sovereignty56:01 Pushing back Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
13 years before Donald Trump and Elon Musk created DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) in the US, Queenslanders elected Campbell Newman as Premier with a DOGE-like mandate to remove the waste, inefficiency, fraud and abuse from the Queensland State Government. Unlike most politicians, Campbell actually did the job he was elected to do. He reduced the government’s spending, reduced the size of the bloated bureaucracy, balanced the budget, and simultaneously improved frontline staffing and service delivery performance. In other words, he did what desperately needs to be done, nationally, in both Australia and the US.The result of Campbell successfully removing government waste, bloat and poor performance was similar to the response given to Elon Musk and his DOGE revelations: crucifixion in the media and by the political class. From a record-setting, landslide, 78 to 7 seat win against Labor in 2012, in the 2015 election Queenslanders swung back to the devil they knew. Labor wasted no time resuming its wasteful spending, inflating the bureaucracy, racking up debt and cancelling the hard work Queensland had just done. Like Elon, Campbell was sent to the DOGE pound for doing the critical job he was tasked to do. So, in this episode of the Liberty Itch podcast, I ask Campbell what happened, what lessons he learned and what advice he can give to the next DOGE-r to neuter the media, bring the bureaucracy to heel, and avoid being sent to the DOGE pound?TIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro2:07 What happened?8:49 Slashing 14000 jobs12:00 Opportunity for reform16:56 Trump Effect?17:55 Advice for the next guy22:38 Pressure to go Green29:09 Why can’t the boss boss?35:32 Fraud & unaccountability 41:52 Are Aussies born socialists?44:02 Fixing the LNP50:07 Future for Campbell Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
For episode 14 of the liberty itch podcast, the honourable John Ruddick - Libertarian Party member of the NSW Legislative Council - gives his assessment of the 2025 Australian federal election, the issues impacting the result, how Labor won, and the future of freedom-focussed parties in Australian politics.John is a lifelong libertarian who devoted over 20 years to trying to redirect the Liberal Party back toward its founding principles. In 2018 he published a book entitled ‘Make the Liberal Party Great Again’. But in 2021, after the Liberal government’s hysterical covid response, he abandoned the party to join the Liberal Democrats; now known as the Libertarian Party. Johns inaugural speech in the NSW parliament should be considered essential viewing for all libertarians. He covers all of the big issues in Australian politics, pulling no punches, yet remaining affable throughout. The speech’s truthfulness resulted in it being banned by YouTube. However, YouTube has since revised what is ‘true’, and so the speech is available again. You can find it here…In this podcast, John gives a fascinating and deeply thought-provoking analysis of the Australian political landscape, with powerful historical and international references, and his characteristic candidness. TIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro1:47 How did Labor win?9:54 Liberal party dysfunction16:05 Disrupting Australian politics24:39 Freedom alliances27:18 Misrepresentation of preferential voting31:24 Why does the media hate freedom?35:33 The compulsory voting problem38:53 Destructive UN policies50:26 Trump effect on Australian election53:48 How will Albanese govern?56:48 Climate change hoax1:02:16 Freedom parties next steps Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
The latest book of multi-award winning writer Danny King, is ‘Cancelled’. It is a satirical novel set in a future world in which saying or thinking the wrong thing gets you cancelled from mainstream society.Ironically, here in the present, the publishers tried to cancel ‘Cancelled’. So, Liberty Itch writer, Tom Valcanis, decided to ask Danny about ‘Cancelled’, being cancelled, and writing in our brave new world where being cancelled is all too real.Fortunately, Danny was able to self-publish ‘Cancelled’, and it is now shortlisted for the Prometheus Awards Best Novel of 2025. ‘Cancelled’ is available on Amazon in physical or digital form here…Connect with Danny on Facebook here…TIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro1:55 Inspiration for ‘Cancelled’5:23 How to stop becoming New Brittania7:39 Challenging dangerous ideology9:55 Writing different genres16:45 Competing with legends18:18 What led you to writing?20:35 Psychology of characters24:04 Lockdowns and obedience30:00 Sci-fi inspirations35:21 Writer education36:09 ChatGPT “writers”41:53 Technological tyranny44:51 Starmer, Trump, Albo & Dutton51:20 Novels vs screenplays53:40 Sienna - protagonist of Cancelled55:21 Diversity57:52 Weaponisation of words & ideas1:10:12 Libertarianism in politics1:16:55 British sci-fi1:20:38 Advice to writers1:24:10 Self publishing Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
Topher is the multi award winning director of Battleground Melbourne; a powerful documentary about the lies and human-rights abuses of the Dan Andrews government and Victorian police during the Covid sham. It can actually be viewed for free at: https://battlegroundmelbourne.comHe was also Australian Libertarian of the year in 2022, Libertarian activist of the year in 2016, and he is author of the book ‘Good People Break Bad Laws’.In this interview we discuss Australia’s bad laws, bad government and how to use our surprisingly good voting system to move politics back toward freedom. Everyday, Topher is producing videos exposing the people, stories and libertarian perspectives being censored or misrepresented by the mainstream media. Follow his work on:X: https://x.com/TopherFieldYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TopherFieldFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TopherFieldOr visit: https://topherfield.nethttps://battlegroundmelbourne.comhttps://goodpeoplebreakbadlaws.comTIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro2:26 Two tests for bad laws5:54 Source of government authority8:38 Covid bad “laws”10:47 National park lockouts11:59 Dan Andrews14:18 Permission laws20:40 Laws undermining the law24:13 Booze buses26:45 Bureaucrats love impossible goals28:40 The monetary value of life32:57 The conspiracy35:37 How to limit government power38:52 Venezuela40:35 Australian’s political sensibility45:15 Australian’s innate libertarianism50:18 Hurty words on Facebook52:16 Cultural Marxism54:54 Wokeness has peaked58:17 Massive social swingback1:03:39 The Trump effect1:10:02 Truth about the Tariffs1:16:18 Free trade1:18:52 Expired self perception danger1:22:45 Lessons from Venezuela1:30:44 How to vote for freedom in Aus Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
Ned Kelly. Al Capone. James Corbett. Every era has a dangerous villain who exploits the technology of the day to break the rules and confound authorities.If the media is to believed, James Corbett more dangerous than Kelly or Capone were. He is one of the most prolific of the internet’s allegedly ‘dangerous conspiracy theorists’.James was among the first to be censored and deplatformed from multiple tech platforms, immediately following the infamous Alex Jones. His dozens of documentaries and reports on YouTube had garnered millions of views over 10 years. Then YouTube deleted his entire library.So I asked James why? Was he lying or slanderous? How does he come up with his alleged ‘conspiracy theories’? What is he saying that has governments and the media so hysterical about silencing people like him? And, how can we differentiate between a crazy conspiracy theory and good investigative journalism?Check out the Corbett Report website: https://corbettreport.comCheck out James’s book, Reportage: https://reportagebook.comCrisis of Science: https://corbettreport.com/sciencecrisis/TIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro3:25 What is a conspiracy theorist?4:19 The Bilderberg conspiracy9:55 Reportage: conspiracy tales11:05 Do NOT do your own research?13:27 Crazy climate change conspiracy theory20:27 Crazy covid conspiracy theory26:47 Early Chinese Covid collapses 30:49 Crisis of Science36:28 9/11 conspiracy theories46:47 How is available information ignored?50:03 Our reliance on the internet50:59 Decentralised online alternatives53:37 Where to find future peace and freedom Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
Steve Holland was the youngest ever mayor of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Upon entering the role he discovered that, rather than the councillors running the bureaucracy, it was the bureaucracy that ran the councillors.TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Intro2:25 The Deep State in Council7:58 Dilution of Democracy 10:29 The recalcitrant Bureaucracy11:39 Labor rigging the game14:10 4 years to plant trees19:11 Why politics?23:37 Why council?29:11 Fighting the cash-ban policy33:14 The source of unrequested bad policies37:19 Deep state motivations40:22 Local Government is Libertarian45:02 Aussies’ Stockholm syndrome47:20 The Authoritarian vs Libertarian political axis52:52 The immigration issue1:09:22 Australia’s low economic complexity1:12:00 Mother of all recessions1:13:50 Who would fight in war for Australia?1:14:50 Social contract broken1:22:22 Steering the ship in a better direction1:33:21 Libertarians getting involved 1:38:38 Government in Tbilisi, Georgia1:41:33 Australia dragged into US wars1:50:20 Questioning power1:51:33 Time for libertarians to fight for liberty Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
Tom Volcanis interviews Professor Gigi Foster - senior scholar at the Brownstone Institute and co-author of ‘The Great Covid Panic’ - about a range of topics related to Australia’s love affair with all things government, including the current perception of the government’s disastrous Covid policies and actions.0:00 Introduction1:26 Current perception of the Covid response4:48 Model based projections6:54 Continued support for vaccine mandates11:01 Why is Government trusted?15:34 Government dependence20:30 Priority of sport26:21 Superannuation33:49 Stratification of Australian society38:21 Public Education44:41 DOGE Australia40:00 University Industrial Complex52:53 Perpetuation of luxury beliefs56:05 Rubber-stamping exported degrees Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
My guest for Episode 8 is Victorian Libertarian Party lead senate candidate, Jordan Dittloff. Jordan’s perspective, passion, policies and personality should be a winning combination, if he can get his message through the corrupt Australian mainstream media. So, in this discussion we get stuck into the ugly realities facing Australia, starting with the lying media. We then move onto the pervasive organised crime, the monstrous corruption of government, the dire state of the economy, the anti-nuclear agenda and whether it is even possible to make a dent in the problems?Click here for the 2023 Discernable interview with Jordan’s backstoryClick here for the recent Discernable interview of Jordan: Government Hates YouClick here for the recent JBH Show interview of JordanFollow Jordan on X: https://x.com/Dittloff4Senate Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
In this episode, Liberty Itch writers, James Hol, (former senator) David Leyonhjelm and I discuss libertarian concepts that each has written about. We reached absolutely no conclusions whatsoever.TIMESTAMPS0:00 Introduction2:15 Government enforced morality56:44 Foreign wars1:11:10 Non-aggression principle1:21:20 Libertarian hedonism1:31:31 The Social Contract. Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
Warren is a Chinese national who escaped(?) communist China, and has now been living in Australia for 12 years.Warrens story, in of itself is obviously fascinating. What did he do to get in trouble with the Chinese government? What did they do to him? How did he get out? What about his family?But I was also interested in a genuine, first hand, truthful critique of China and the Chinese government, from the perspective of a fellow Libertarian; someone whose values I share and make sense to me.Warren is now an experienced Australian small business owner. So I asked Warren how company ownership actually works, in practice, in China? How do the employment laws work? Mostly, how do things compare with Australia?His answers might surprise you. They should also trouble you.TIMESTAMPS1:11 What happened?2:29 What did you do?6:05 The Dangerous Misinformation Post7:25 Coerced confession8:22 Critical articles10:02 Protesting Covid in China16:12 Economic troubles17:55 Aus property market similarities22:00 Getting money out of China26:02 CCP Surveillance27:54 Interrogation room38:40 Incentivising harrassment41:42 Getting out49:51 Starting with nothing in Sydney53:55 China more capitalist than Australia56:08 No free healthcare57:31 Private property in China1:03:26 Owning companies in China1:05:29 Employing staff in Australia1:09:05 Employing staff in China1:16:13 Australia vs China freedom Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
Senator David Leyonhjelm is the guest for episode 5 of the Liberty Itch podcast. David has been at the forefront of Australia's gun control debate. He has written 2 books on the topic with a third on the way. He is well known for his libertarian stance and he's consistently challenged Australia's strict firearm laws, arguing they infringe on citizens' rights to self-defense and recreation, which they do. Australia has among the toughest gun control laws in the World, along with North Korea, Eritrea and Venezuela. It is not a policy to be proud of. As David explains, aggressive gun control laws are a feature of authoritarian dictatorships. They do not precede a reduction in crime; probably because criminals do not care about laws, by definition. But harsh gun control laws have preceded some of the most horrifying examples of government brutality of the past 100 years.In this episode, David shares his perspectives on gun control, personal liberty, and the reality of how gun laws affect public safety versus individual rights.Click here for David’s books…Click here for David’s Facebook page…Click here for David’s Twitter… Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
Senator Bob Day was one of Australia's most successful builders. After being named South Australian Entrepreneur of the Year and receiving an Order of Australia for his housing affordability advocacy, Bob's journey led him to the Senate. Ever since he has been arguing and advocating for Australians to be given more freedom to decide their own workplace arrangements, and for government to get out of the way of, among other things, housing development. I was privileged to have Bob share with me a true insiders perspective on the real challenges in Australian politics, particularly pertaining to workplace and housing laws.TIME STAMPS0:00 Intro1:22 Workplace superhighway12:31 Minimum wage15:52 Low unemployment rate?18:24 Your rights at work18:50 New Contractor Laws22:13 Baptists & Bootleggers26:11 Employees vs Employers false dichotomy28:43 Forming monopolies via regulation31:30 misdirection in politics36:28 how do you fix workplace laws?37:48 construction industry transformation44:30 how do we fix it, take 2.49:01 land regulations53:12 government land hoarding56:57 fixing the land issue1:00:28 market distortions1:04:54 south australian decline1:08:12 renewables racket1:15:01 copenhagen consensus1:17:34 closing message Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
Jim is a Scientist, farmer, decorated public servant, and soon to be Libertarian Party senator. For years Jim has been at the front line in the, unfortunately, losing battle against government for the property rights of regular Australian’s. In this episode Jim told me about what is actually happening with the so-called green energy projects in rural australia, along with many other fascinating stories of past, present and future battles with a government whose actions seem to be increasingly misdirected, destructive, and authoritarian.Contact or support Jim through: https://libertariansqld.org.au/TIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro0:59 Senate Run2:20 Property Rights Australia2:55 How to fight for property rights3:41 Fighting the reckless renewables rollout9:25 Government-protected corporate vandalism12:27 Wind turbine truths15:37 What can be done?24:16 What do people really think?27:19 Lets Rethink Renewables movement33:09 Fighting an imported ideology37:10 Libertarian Party renewable policy40:36 Sovereign risk to nuclear industry42:15 NGO push to end farming52:07 The NGO objective55:05 Infrastructural decay56:00 Why the insanity?1:03:43 How Government changed1:08:20 Corporate farming vs family farms1:11:40 Preventing plagues1:15:39 Frightening biosecurity threat1:18:02 Libertarian solution?1:21:55 Public engagement1:33.44 It has to stop1:34:06 The appetite for libertarianism Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
Jonathan Cole is a libertarian political philosopher, Liberty Itch contributor and host of the Political Animals podcast. In this episode, I ask Jonathan to provide an overview of the various ‘flavours’ of libertarian theory and how they might apply in Australia.You can follow Jonathan on Substack, YouTube and X.TIMESTAMPS:SECTION 10.54 What is libertarianism?2.41 What are the denominations?9.38 What are the ideas of how to get to libertarianism?14.33 Libertarians fighting with both hands tied16.38 Is a collapse of socialism necessary?20.48 What is the sales pitch for libertarianism?SECTION 224.04 Dealing with government29.29 Monopolies via regulation32.11 Government corrupt regulatory process40.18 No logical limit to state interference41.45 Covid rant47.19 Road rules rant1.00.50 Unintended consequences of free health care1.06.24 Robbing Elon MuskSECTION 31.12.30 Statism historically baked into Australian culture1.16.20 Effect of Australia’s colonialism1.22.13 The inherent contradiction of choice in forming a party1.27.45 First steps to libertarianismSECTION 41.33.46 Anarcho capitalism theory vs reality1:41.23 Does no-state libertarianism end up with a state anyway?1.44.47 Helicopter parenting1.45.58 Regulation rant1.50.10 NDIS rant1.54.08 Socialists misunderstanding incentives1.55.48 Political philosophy and human nature Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe
Kenelm Tonkin is the founder of Liberty Itch and, appropriately, the guest for Episode 1 of the Liberty Itch Podcast. Kenelm explains the reason and goals for Liberty Itch along with providing fascinating insights into the history and current direction of Libertarianism in Australian Politics.TIMESTAMPS0:00 – Introduction0:58 – What is Liberty Itch?2:47 – Is libertarianism a “centre-right” ideology?5:17 – What most voters think libertarian is9:12 – Example of how libertarianism can sound leftwing10:15 – Defining libertarianism12:06 – Ideologies and the 3 philosophies which compete14:21 – On the socialists’ hijack of the word “liberalism”19:43 – 7 Hallmarks of libertarianism and libertarianism’s opponents22:40 – On socialism and communism27:05 – On conservatism, 2 tugboats and a cargo ship, and The Overton Window36:36 – Libertarians as agents of change and progress42:30 – What capitalism looks like54:27 – The morality of libertarianism59:08 – John Locke, Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill and The Harm Principle1:04:45 – Frédéric Bastiat, David Hume, Thomas Jefferson and the Lockean US Declaration of Independence1:09:25 – Alexis de Tocqueville and his “flock of timid and industrious animals”1:13:24 – Lord Acton, Montesquieu, Thomas Paine, Jean-Baptiste Say, Willliam Gladstone, Lysander Spooner, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Robert Nozick, Murray Rothbard, Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman1:17:14 – Moving forward by offering an alternate vision1:20:33 – A libertarian strategy for the public square, Senator David Leyonhjelm, David Limbrick, Caroline White1:26:50 – Evangelising libertarianism by directly contrasting against socialism and conservatism on policy: economics, taxation, energy, education, censorship1:36:42 – How to revivify civilisation1:40:38 – How the Libertarian Party wins Get full access to Liberty Itch at www.libertyitch.com/subscribe