Business Support:
Why We Need Your Help
An open letter:
Dear Supporter
Politics is a very expensive endeavour for those directly involved, but the stakes involved can be tremendous. The winners in politics shape our laws, taxes, community values and expectations - for better or for worse.
I would like to offer five reasons why your assistance is needed in the world of politics.
1. Protect your business from the excesses of government.
Government statutes and taxes are your business. Government may be unnecessarily hamstringing how you do business, or it may be constraining your customers from creating the wealth that they should be able to produce. Although globalisation has brought more competition and trade between business around the world, many governments are still spending more than ever before and interfering in areas where they do not have the greatest expertise. Only our side of politics wants to keep government to its logical limits.
2. Ensure political balance.
Parties of the left rely on the trade unions for donations, usually extracting money automatically from the pay-packets of union members (and often from non-members). But on the Right of politics, there is no such luxury. Only a small proportion of businesses donate to politics at all, and business increasingly donates to both sides of politics as "insurance" against revenge in the awarding of government contracts. Only a small proportion of businesses donate consistently to the Right side of politics, in recognition of our record for creating the best conditions for economic growth.
3. Help keep talented young men and women in politics.
Being an election candidate or a party activist is usually very costly for those involved. Most costs incurred by young political leaders can never be re-couped, including travel to countless meetings and Conventions, production of internal party literature, and income forgone during election campaigns. Politics has its occasional excitements, but any rational participant must also weigh up the costs. Unless politics offers skills and training commensurate with that in other professions, then it is hard to keep talented young men and women interested.
4. Help educate tomorrow's politicians.
Without your support, it is difficult to give talented young party figures the advanced training that they need to ensure good government leaders into the future. There are no institutions or "colleges" which train people to become political leaders. The Asia Pacific Democrat Youth helps to fill this breach in our region. We provide a forum for sharing information on policy, campaign techniques, and party organisation. APDY Conventions are also an invaluable training forum for party leaders who seek to compare notes. Our network assists political leaders from emerging democracies to avoid policy mistakes which other countries have made. Likewise our members from developed nations share the latest thinking on the regulation of new technologies.
5. Keep Big Government at bay.
In the competitive field of politics, those who do not keep abrest of the latest innovations will soon meet defeat. The 20th century has seen Big Government triumph too often, at the expense of individual rights and economic prosperity. We want to ensure that the 21st century does not become yet another false dawn of hope for human freedom. The centre-right parties are champions for freedom and guardians against the excesses of government.
Please consider donating to a centre-right party in your neighbourhood. Please consider inviting a representative from your local party to speak to workers in your business about policy issues. Please also consider donating to the work of the Asia Pacific Democrat Youth. We would be privileged by your support.
Yours sincerely
Daniel Clode
Chairman
The Asia Pacific Democrat Youth
How to Donate:
Please indicate how you wish your contribution to be allocated among the following activities of the APDY. A cheque will have to be sent separately to the address below (cheques are received care of the Secretariat of the Liberal Party of Australia). We will acknowledge receipt of your email and acceptance of your directions. We will also acknowledge when your cheque is received by mail and keep you informed of its disbursement in the relevant activities. For further details on our programs, click here.
Amount Pledged
Sponsored Activity
Developing Countries Program: Training support for young leaders from developing countries.
Campaign Training Program: Election campaign training for members of centre right parties.
Website Development Program: The APDY website allows resources to be made available to political activists down to the grassroots level.
Policy Development Program: This program funds public policy research, research papers, policy workshops and related forums.
International Conventions Program: Convention sponsorship enables us to bring together young political leaders from centre right parties across the region.
Priority Purposes: Priority purposes funds are allocated among the above objectives by the APDY Executive.
Questions/ Comments:
Please direct cheques to:
The Asia Pacific Democrat Youth
c/- APDU Secretariat
P.O. Box E 13
Kingston ACT 2600
AUSTRALIA
Thank you very much for your contribution. It is greatly appreciated.
Code of Conduct:
Qualifying Expenditure
Under the Constitution of the APDY, members of our organisation are prohibited from making any personal profit out of their involvement in the APDY. Donations can only be directed towards funding the operational expenses of the APDY and its educational activities. The framework for donations allows supporters to stipulate which proportions of their donations will support particular kinds of training activities. Because our activities are all primarily directed towards educational activities, donations may qualify under some laws as philanthropic contributions.
Disclosure & Confidentiality
Where requested by a donor, the support of a business will be acknowledged on APDY publications and at Conventions. Where required by law, donations will be disclosed to relevant legal authorities and donors will be forewarned where such obligations would arise. In all other instances, we will fully respect and defend the privacy of supporters who wish to keep their donations confidential. The constitution of the APDY prohibits incorporation of the organisation, to ensure that the organisation will not be captive to the regulatory environment of any one nation. The APDY is structured in the spirit of an independent international non-government organisation.
Accountability
The constitution of the APDY requires an audited set of accounts to be considered at its Council meetings and the Treasurer is required to report regularly throughout the year to the Executive. Donors who have contributed to particular activities of the APDY will be entitled to request accounts showing the expenditure of funds under the relevant programs.