Latest news with #LegaliseCannabis
ABC News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
WA upper house MPs allege spies, blackmail and Chevron exploitation in valedictory speeches
The WA Parliament's typically docile upper house has seen an eventful penultimate sitting, with one MP describing "nearly being groped" in the chamber while another said an oil and gas giant "hates Australian workers". The four-year terms of Western Australia's legislative councillors come to an end on Thursday when the 37 members chosen at the March state election are sworn in. It means the so-called house of review has largely been focused on valedictory speeches of outgoing members, rather than usual parliamentary business, for more of its last few sitting weeks. Sophia Moermond — who was elected as a Legalise Cannabis MP but was later dumped by the party — was among those giving their final speeches. "I would have thought my chances of ever being an elected member of Parliament were similar to me being on the first terraforming mission to Mars," she told the chamber at the beginning of her speech. She went on to detail "blackmail and threats of blackmail", and said she had to take out a family violence restraining order and engage a lawyer for a defamation case against "a very angry man in Tasmania". "I don't know if this is normal, but if it is, it certainly should not be." Ms Moermond said she had spent "over $18,000 being able to hear in this place" as a result of being deaf, but said the "hearing situation" in parliament had been sorted out so it would be a "much easier ride" for any future MPs with hearing impairments. Less than a year into her term, Ms Moermond was suspended from parliament for not being vaccinated against COVID-19 and described the mandate to do so as medical apartheid. "Bodily autonomy should be paramount in a democracy and I stand by my decision," she said. Later in the sitting, outgoing Labor MP Kyle McGinn used parliamentary privilege to claim oil and gas giant Chevron "hates Australian workers" and is "without doubt the pariah of the west coast oil and gas industry". Mr McGinn worked as an organiser for the Maritime Union of Australia for a decade before entering parliament. "Chevron is fixated on the bottom line, maximising short-term profits and exploiting our natural resources without putting much back into developing job opportunities or improving the lives of West Australian workers," he told the chamber. Mr McGinn claimed the company was planning to "sack hundreds of engineers who are working at [its] Elizabeth Quay headquarters … flying in the face of the Barrow Island Act 2003 which requires it to employ local workers wherever possible" but had not yet made a final decision. "Chevron comes to WA, pillages our resources, throws us a few scraps in the form of jobs and then decides, once the holes are dug, it will sack its Australian employees and replace them with foreign remote labour," he told parliament. Chevron was contacted for comment but did not respond before deadline. A Chevron spokesperson has previously told media the company was committed to meeting its local content obligations under the law. "Given our operated assets in WA, Gorgon and Wheatstone are long-term energy developments, we will continue to depend on the talent of our local workforce for decades to come," they said. Premier Roger Cook described Mr McGinn's comments as "intemperate" and said he disagreed. "I think Chevron are a great industry player," he said. "They are an important part of our economy and quite frankly, they support WA workers." Nationals-turned-independent MP Louise Kingston also made her final contribution to the chamber — although a few weeks later than intended. "My husband suffered a heart attack in my office here at Parliament House on the day I was meant to deliver my valedictory speech," she said. "All I can say is thank god, as had it happened anywhere else, I wouldn't still have him. "My husband had what is known as a silent heart attack, no symptoms and no warning. "No pain, clutching his chest, dizziness or breathlessness. "I honestly thought he was choking until his breathing and pulse stopped." Ms Kingston thanked parliamentary staff who responded, as well as Jags Krishnan — a lower house Labor MP and GP who assisted — and Minister Sabine Winton had comforted her daughter. She described the paramedics who responded as her "absolute heroes" and thanked the nurses and doctors who helped save her husband's life. Ms Kingston split from the Nationals after accusing Nationals leader Shane Love of "relentless bullying and harassment" under parliamentary privilege. Mr Love has always denied those claims. "As many have said, politics is a brutal game and my journey is testament to how brutal it can be," Ms Kingston told the chamber. "I leave stronger, more determined and educated. I will continue to use my voice for good."
News.com.au
14-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘We'll win sooner or later': Legalise Cannabis Party has high hopes after surprise election result
It was an election of big winners and losers, with one fringe party quietly pulling off its biggest results of the campaign. The Legalise Cannabis Party had a nearly 30-fold jump in the number of first preference votes in the House of Representatives, securing more than 164,000 votes compared to just 6025 three years ago. Once seen as a niche protest group, it's now pulling support from across the political spectrum and putting pressure on the major parties to take notice. Legalise Cannabis Party The Legalise Cannabis Party is a single issue party focusing on the legalisation of cannabis for personal, medicinal and industrial uses in Australia. It is strongly 'anti-big pharmaceutical'. Election analysts said contrary to what might be expected, the Legalise Cannabis Party's success may have come from the conservative side of politics. 'Legalise Cannabis draw some support from the left, but they also compete to a degree with One Nation,' election analyst and political commentator Dr Kevin Bonham said. 'They tend to do better in sort of not the inner cities, but regional kinds of areas out of suburbs. Queensland's dispersed population, they tend to do better as a result of that.' Redbridge pollster Kos Samaras said in the recent Queensland state election, the party 'did well in the outer suburbs of Brisbane'. 'And [in that election] it probably soaked up most of Labor's haemorrhaging'. 'It depends on who's doing the haemorrhaging, whether Legalise Cannabis picks up those votes. On this occasion, I think they probably soaked up more of the Coalition vote than anyone else's,' Mr Samaras said. The party ran in 41 lower house seats compared to one at the 2022 election and despite failing to pick up a seat, the Legalise Cannabis Party had received 447,818 first preference Senate votes at the time of writing with a projected +0.02 swing. Legalise Cannabis president Michael Balderstone said the party received half a million votes in the Senate last election. 'That will be the more interesting number to look at [than the House of Representatives] because I would expect that to go up another half again [this time],' he told from the party headquarters in Nimbin. 'So that's a fair few Australians giving Legalise Cannabis their number one vote. I just hope Albo with his new big tick of approval will take us a bit more seriously and maybe do something this time.' According to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2022-23 data, cannabis continues to be the most widely used illicit drug in Australia, 41 per cent had used cannabis in their lifetime and 11.5 per cent of people had recently used it. Mr Balderstone said it was 'inevitable, we'll win sooner or later'. 'It's only an amount of time until it gets legalised, it's just about moving that train along,' Mr Balderstone said. 'I think people need to accept that drug use is a health issue and the people who are getting busted and the people who are using illegal drugs are just the traumatised, troubled people in our society and our jails are full of them. It's not helping anyone, really. 'It might look impressive for voters, the law and order stuff, but people aren't so stupid. They know what's going on and if people are nonviolent, I don't know why we're locking them up for trying to get some relief.' In 2022-23 almost one in four (23 per cent) people aged 20-29 had used cannabis in the previous 12 months. Mr Balderstone said the party may have outgrown its Nimbin roots but the real battleground lay in reducing the stigma around cannabis use. 'The party's gone way past Nimbin and possibly the image of stoner hippies is not ideal for us, but not a lot of people want to put their hand up and say, yeah, we smoke cannabis because the stigma is still huge, whereas you know hippies in Nimbin are expected to smoke weed,' he said. 'So the stigma is still a big factor, but I think slowly fading, but that's the big job; to get people to accept and understand that cannabis users are just ordinary people who have discovered a plant that doesn't give them a hangover, takes away their trauma, gives them a good night's sleep and as you don't smoke with tobacco, has minimal health implications.' A Breakdown Labor may have won the night, securing a majority government and a second term for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, but Australia's political map is being redrawn – from the fringe to the future, minor parties are quietly stealing the show. Around six million people, or one in three voters, now put the number 1 next to independents or minor parties. Labor won its thumping victory off a primary vote of 34.7 per cent – only 2 per cent higher than in 2022 – while the Coalition received 32.2 per cent. That means the combined vote for independents and minor parties, at 33.1 per cent, will likely surpass that of one of the majors for the first time in nearly 70 years. 'The number of Australians who voted for something other than the major parties is following the usual trajectory, which is increasing in size proportionately,' Redbridge's Kos Samaras told 'We know that among them, the majority is made up of people who are generally younger. Gen Z, for example, have the lowest levels of what we will define as values [or] connections to any political party in this country, and so are more likely to choose something other than the majors.' The success of the minor parties generally depends on which of the major parties are haemorrhaging more votes. Labor votes are likely to go to parties like the Greens, Legalise Cannabis or Fusion. Liberal votes tend to go to parties like One Nation, Trumpet of Patriots or Family First. With the Liberal Party projecting the largest recorded swing of the election at negative 3.01 per cent, the more conservative fringe parties would be expected to soak up the majority of those votes – and some have to a certain extent. We went through the biggest shockers from the minor party swings to see what political direction Australians are leaning. Trumpet of Patriots Trumpet of Patriots is a right wing party taken over by Clive Palmer in February after he was unable to re-register the United Australia Party for the election. Their policies centre around 'reducing government intrusion in our lives, breaking the [Labor/ Liberal] duopoly' and stopping 'the erosion of our Australian values and identity' according to their website. Gone but not forgotten, no he's not dead but after a political campaign characterised by annoying text messages and through the roof advertising it's looking like Clive Palmer's political aspirations finally may be. When your model is based on Donald Trump and the Australian people tell you consistently that they hate Donald Trump it's amazing they did as well as they have. At the time of writing AEC Tally room has Trumpet of Patriots at 336,242 votes with a +2.33 swing. Many on the conservative side of Australian politics were critical of Mr Palmer's late addition to the election for dividing a pool of voters that may have better been united. Gerard Rennick of the Gerard Rennick People First party believes the estimated $60 million Mr Palmer spent on his campaign was 'wasted' after the party failed to pick up a single seat in the House of Representatives. 'We didn't need to have Clive coming in at the last minute with the new party,' Mr Rennick said. 'You know, the money, it was wasted, certainly didn't help either. 
Not good, not good at all. And I know Clive says he's left politics for good, I'll believe it when I see it. 
The problem is he comes back in the last five minutes every time.' Dr Bonham said Trumpet of Patriots recorded less than half the votes the United Australia Party got in the last election 'partly because they didn't run in every seat.' Trumpet of Patriots did not respond to this masthead's request for comment. Gerard Rennick People First Gerard Rennick has been a senator since 2019, he resigned from the Liberal National Party in 2024 after he was dumped from preselection in an internal ballot. He then formed the Gerard Rennick People First party, whose key policies include lower income tax, flexible childcare and voluntary superannuation. Senator Rennick joined forces with Katter's party for the senate vote where in Queensland they received 129,493 first preference votes with a +4.71 swing. Mr Rennick told he was 'extremely happy' with how they went. 'In terms of Queensland, I think we did very well for a new party that's only been around for four months. 
We didn't really put a lot of effort into the other states because we didn't have the time and the resources and the money. 'But, you know, we're sitting at 4.7, actually, 4.74-75 with next to no mainstream media attention, next to no money. 
But we did have an excellent ground game in terms of the support we got from our volunteers. So, yeah, I'm extremely happy with how we went.' David Pocock David Pocock is an independent senator and former rugby union player for Australia, his key policies revolve around cost-of-living, housing and climate action. He is also the only Australian politician whose weight is listed on their Wikipedia bio (trim 115kg but geez he's looking good). Senator Pocock was re-elected on a 99,213, 18 per cent swing in his Canbera electorate, the biggest in the country and an almost doubling of his vote. Mr Pocock told he was 'extremely humbled' by the support from the people of ACT at this election after three years of 'working hard and pushing for more ambition on the issues they care about'. 'The primary vote for community-backed Independents more broadly surged this election, surpassing 1 million primary votes in the lower house and demonstrated a slightly bigger swing [2.1 per cent] than towards Labor [2.09 per cent]. 'What I hear from people is that they want to see more ambition and a government with the courage to tackle the root causes of the big challenges we face, from housing to climate action. 'They want representatives who put them and their best interests first, ahead of vested interests on things like gambling, lobbying, tax concessions on property, reform on higher education and getting a fair return on the sale of our resources.' Mr Pocock said these issues have an 'outsized impact' on young people and that in part was a driver behind more young people supporting independent candidates like himself. 'Social media has definitely had a huge impact on election campaigns, we've seen some big money spent there too, over $39 million at last count but I expect that tally to grow. What we really need to see is the parliament prioritise passing truth in political advertising legislation and regulating the use of Artificial Intelligence in high risk settings, including electoral matters. 'I don't think anyone expected Labor to pick up so many seats and I think while the Government clearly has a mandate they need to also be really mindful of the message voters sent by the record independent vote. Early post-election polling has confirmed people across Australia want to see bolder, more urgent action on things like health and housing.' One Nation One Nation is a right wing party founded and run by Pauline Hanson, the party denies the existence of climate change, and denounces economic rationalism and globalisation. They recorded 750,537 first preference Senate votes with a +1.33 swing. Dr Bonham said the result represented a win for One Nation but not one as large as the polls predicted. 'One Nation are up, but not as much as the polls were suspecting they would be. They've still done quite well, but they got 6.3 per cent, whereas a lot of the late polls had them around about 8 per cent.' Senator Hanson declined to comment extensively however told she 'is pleased with the increase in support for One Nation'. Family First Family First is a conservative Christian party whose policies revolve around opposing abortion, euthanasia and LGBT advocacy. According to their website Family First 'exists to restore Australia by restoring the primacy of the family in public policy'. They recorded 197,649 first preference Senate votes with a +1.48 swing. Dr Bonham said the name 'Family First' name has always been a 'low information voter magnet' but that because of electoral reforms parties could no longer be elected off of a misleading name. 'Some party names do seem to catch clueless voters. Animal justice is another one. 
It's often surprising in elections, how many people you see who put Animal Justice Party first and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers second. So there is some confusion with some of these party names. But it's not a huge thing. 
And the benefit of our new system that came in from 2016, you can no longer get elected off 1 per cent of the vote by having a misleading name. It doesn't work that way anymore.' Fusion Party The Fusion party is the combination of Planet Rescue, Whistleblower Protection and Innovation parties. They recorded 37,321 first preference Senate votes with a negative 0.06 swing. President of the Fusion party Drew Wolfendale told the result was disappointing but didn't necessarily reflect the progress the party had made. 'Well look, we made a lot of important progress this election. Not all of that was reflected in votes, but I mean, it was a very interesting election with a lot of stuff that happened. I think everyone was surprised by the election results in a number of ways.' 'One could argue that we got sabotaged by a few different things as well in this election, but that didn't stop us from making an impression in a few areas that we were quite happy to have made an impression on. 'There were a few other things like Build-a-Ballot, which saw a lot more attention in this election. 
A lot more people used various tools to try and work out what they thought was appropriate to them. And we had two different issues where somewhere along the line, something got changed or misreported and we only found out after a week that we'd been being misrepresented by one of these tools quite heavily to several thousand people in some cases.' 'There were two particular ones where we were listed as being against free speech in one of them, which was definitely not appropriate.' Mr Wolfendale endeavoured to keep the party out of the culture wars and believes it was helpful in winning people over. 'I think the one thing that really stands out to me is that the culture wars are increasingly the domain of a group of people who are frustrated more than they're against things rather than for things. And that's been very eye-opening in this election. 
We in many ways tried to stay out of them, and we got quite a few interested people based on the fact that we weren't spouting rhetoric on that front. I think the Liberals learned a lesson that they leant on that too hard and all that did was drive people away from them in both directions. There's a certain subset of people who really care about the culture war, but no one who is involved in the culture war is actually working on solutions. 
And I think that really stood out in this election that people didn't give a s**t. They want solutions and that's what they're there for. And I will swear on that point.'
ABC News
04-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Labor set for easier Senate as Pocock, Lambie risk being sidelined
Anthony Albanese may only need either the support of the Greens or the Coalition to pass legislation in the next parliament, as the surge in support for Labor boosts its ranks in the Senate by as many as four. While preference counts are incomplete, leaving the final spot in several states up in the air, Labor has already gained one senator in Queensland on first preferences alone, and the ABC projects it is likely to gain in South Australia and may do so in Victoria and New South Wales. Election essentials: That would take its tally to 28 of 76 senators, 11 shy of a majority. Crucially, it could get all of those votes in one place, with the Greens almost certain to retain their tally of 11 seats, and the Coalition to hold 26, giving the government options to its left and right to negotiate the passage of its agenda. The result would sideline crossbenchers including David Pocock, Jacqui Lambie and Fatima Payman, whose votes were highly prized in the previous parliament. Senator Lambie is not assured of returning, locked in a tight battle with Pauline Hanson's daughter, Lee Hanson, for the final Tasmanian Senate seat. An assortment of minor party candidates remain in the frame in several states. Many horses in race for last place The Senate is elected in halves, with six out of 12 senators in each state up for re-election at any one time. The two senators from each territory are re-elected every time. That system means most spots up for grabs at this election were last contested in 2019, when Labor recorded a poor result that saw it slide to just one senator in Queensland. Read more about the federal election: Want even more? Here's where you can find all our 2025 Catch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on The system of proportional representation sees senators elected once they reach a "quota" of 14 per cent of the vote. The race for the final spot is often contested between candidates who begin a long way from a quota but gather the preferences of eliminated candidates. This makes it difficult to gauge the eventual winner from first preference results. Photo shows An election sign of Wil Anderson in a neighbourhood with a dog urinating on it with Gruen Nation Election edition and iview. It's election season and politicians are trying to sell you the world. The team at Gruen isn't about to buy it. They're taking a big swing at the election, showing you how the democracy sausage is made, all the sizzle and none of the meat. For example, in Victoria, the ABC projects Labor's third candidate, Michelle Ananda-Rajah, is ahead in the race for the sixth spot with 0.41 quotas — less than half of what she needs. But One Nation's Warren Pickering is on 0.31 quotas, and former state politician Fiona Patten is on 0.30 quotas running for Legalise Cannabis, with both a chance. In New South Wales, Labor's third candidate, Emilija Beljic, is ahead on 0.62 quotas, with One Nation on 0.42. In Queensland, One Nation's Malcolm Roberts leads the race for the final spot with 0.50 quotas, but former Liberal Gerard Rennick is competitive on 0.35, as are Belinda Jones of Legalise Cannabis on 0.32 and Harry Fong of the Trumpet of Patriots on 0.27. In Western Australia, Labor's third candidate, Deep Singh, is on 0.42, One Nation on 0.41 and Legalise Cannabis on 0.34. In Tasmania, the last two spots are up for grabs, with Liberal Richard Colbeck on 0.54, Jacqui Lambie on 0.47 and Lee Hanson on 0.39. In South Australia and the territories, there is little doubt over the final spots, with Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and David Pocock among those re-elected. Loading Having trouble seeing this form? Try
West Australian
23-04-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Labor alter how-to-vote card after preferencing antisemitic Legalise Cannabis Canning candidate
Labor has changed their how-to-vote card in the WA seat of Canning after they preferenced a now-dumped Legalise Cannabis candidate who made antisemitic comments online third. The minor party's Paul Gullan had shared a string of posts, including one which accused Israel of 'playing the victim' in the Hamas-led October 7 terror attack. He also shared a cartoon to Facebook of Hitler passing a swastika-branded, bloodied baton to Benjamin Netanyahu in a race, with a caption reiterating views that 'Hitler was doing the world a favour by exterminating the Jews.' While stating he didn't 'subscribe to these beliefs' online, Mr Gullan added that Jewish people need to 'execute their leaders', 'if Jews want to maintain their rights as victims of a holocaust.' Mr Gullan was disendorsed on Tuesday after questions from The West Australian, with a party spokesman saying the content did not align with their values. While Labor's Canning candidate Jarrad Goold declined to comment, the party's WA State secretary Ellie Whiteaker told The West Australian the party had reviewed their preferences. 'Immediately upon being made aware of comments from Mr Gullan, WA Labor changed our how to vote cards in Canning,' she said. Incumbent Liberal MP Andrew Hastie is now third on Labor's list, parallel with where Mr Hastie had initially placed Mr Goold. In his online commentary, Mr Gullan had also stated several times he doesn't smoke weed, despite running to represent a party whose base policy is to decriminalise its use. 'I joined the Legalise Cannabis WA Party tonight, even though I do not like Marijuana,' he posted on February 1. Three weeks later he again said: 'I drink and don't smoke weed, as a personal preference.'
The Guardian
20-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Peaceful picnic marks ‘420 Day' in Melbourne – ahead of an election where minor parties could play a defining role
More than a hundred peaceful picnickers gathered on the green grass of Melbourne's Flagstaff Gardens support of the legalisation of cannabis on Sunday. This year, the annual 20 April global celebration of cannabis (known as '420'), landed during a federal campaign in which independents and minor parties are expected to play a defining role. The Legalise Cannabis party's lead senate candidate for Victoria, Fiona Patten, said the focus of the Sunday event was 'celebrating cannabis' and calling for a change to laws that criminalise the use and possession of marijuana for recreational purposes. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter It was mostly a relaxed affair. Attendees reclined on blankets beneath a large Moreton Bay fig, as campaigners for the Legalise Cannabis party and the Libertarian party handed out pamphlets and how-to-vote cards. A juggler flipped fluorescent orange clubs into the air, while 50 or so police – and their sniffer dogs – watched from the sidelines. Patten, who previously represented the Reason party and the Australian Sex party in the Victorian parliament, had not planned to run for federal politics, but she had 'unfinished business', she said, especially in relation to drug law reform. Legalise Cannabis Australia performed strongly at the 2022 federal election, gaining between 2% and 7% of the Senate vote in most states and the Northern Territory, on a platform that seeks to decriminalise and regulate personal use, and see cannabis treated similarly to alcohol and tobacco. If elected in 2025, Patton hopes to achieve two key actions. One is a 'root-and-branch review' of the medicinal cannabis program and regulations in Australia, addressing the barriers to patients, farmers and manufacturers. The second is to amend the federal Crimes Act, enabling states and territories to legalise and regulate cannabis without the risk of being overruled by the commonwealth. 'Prime minister Albanese says cannabis regulation is a matter for the states – we have to amend the federal act to enable that to happen,' Patten said. By running for the Legalise Cannabis party, she also hopes to block candidates such as Ralph Babet, the United Australia party candidate who claimed the sixth Victorian senate seat at the last election. 'I feel really determined to stop that from happening,' she said. 'My race is not with the Greens. It's not with the Labor party. My race is with One Nation and the Trumpet of Patriots.' In Australia, the use of marijuana for medicinal and scientific purposes has been legal since 2016, whereas recreational use remains largely illegal across much of the country, except for the Australian Capital Territory. Despite its status, cannabis was the most widely used illicit drug in Australia, used by 11.5% of people, according to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 'The fact that 2.4 million of us are using cannabis, yet its prohibited, shows that its a bad law, that discriminates against people and stigmatises people,' Patten said. More than 80% of Australians aged over 14 did not think possessing cannabis should be a criminal offence, a national survey of more than 21,000 people held in 2022-23 found. A University of Sydney study, published in the journal Addiction, found rates of cannabis poisoning increased after legalisation in other countries, with risks to children associated with edibles highlighted as a particular concern. But Patten said legalisation would enable both regulation and education: 'One of the main reasons for regulating and legalising a product that is so popular is that you can reduce harm that may be associated with it.' Many in attendance on Sunday, like Shane Macarthur from Traralgon and Jacob Trounce of Geelong, had travelled long distances to show their support for those fighting to change laws that criminalised recreational use. Most questioned the visible presence of police. Sharon Tavener, from Frankston, said she thought the police were intimidating and unnecessary, when what people wanted was the ability to come together peacefully, have a joint and enjoy each other's company.
