Legalise Cannabis is on track to win its first seat in the NW Legislative Council! The early vote counting suggests that they have outperformed the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party and are neck and neck with One Nation in popularity.
Around a quarter of the votes have been counted so far, and it’ll take a few weeks to confirm the composition of the chamber until preferences are tallied and votes exhausted.
The prediction is that Labor will snag eight spots, the Coalition will grab six, and the Greens will secure two.
One Nation got a little over 5 percent of the vote, which means they’ll likely get at least one spot, giving them a total of three upper house seats.
Led by former Greens MLA Jeremy Buckingham, Legalise Cannabis was the fifth most popular party and confident in securing a seat. Buckingham expressed his excitement for the party, which now also has representatives in other states.
The campaign had some significant donors, including philanthropist Nick Fairfax, tech investor Rob Keldoulis, PM Malcolm Turnbull’s son Alex, and the Susan McKinnon Foundation.
Legalise Cannabis also did well in some lower house seats and has become increasingly popular since changing its name from the Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) party in 2021.
Buckingham pointed out that in Cessnock, one out of eight people voted for Legalise Cannabis, and on the Mid North Coast, one out of ten people did the same! That’s a very impressive result for a political party that’s only a year old.
One of Buckingham’s priorities is to advocate for the legalisation of driving for those who use medicinal cannabis. He said that the party attracted support from both the left and right of the political spectrum and has a broad appeal in terms of geography and demographics. He reckons the United States is the perfect example, where states like Missouri, Hawaii and California have legalised cannabis!