NT Legalise Cannabis candidate says he’s in it to win, following promising 2022 senate results

A Territory Legalise Cannabis candidate promises voters ‘there’s more to me than just cannabis’ off the back of his promising 2022 election performance. Find out more.

Legalise Cannabis candidate Lance Lawrence says he is in it to win it, promising voters “there’s more to me than just cannabis”.

The bush poet has been in the Territory since 1966, working in a range of industries including running stock, working on a prawn boat and as security in Darwin watering holes.

At the last senate election in 2022, the NT candidates received 6.2 per cent of the vote — the most of any Legalise Cannabis candidate across the country.

Speaking to this masthead, Mr Lawrence said he believed he could win the senate seat by chipping away at Labor’s first-preference vote and receiving preferences from other parties such as the CLP and the Greens.

Mr Lawrence is confident he can win a senate seat in the Territory. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“I think I can actually win it if Malarndirri McCarthy doesn’t get 50.1 per cent of the primary vote and it goes to preferences,” Mr Lawrence said.

“I imagine I will get preferences from the Greens and any independents, and I would also imagine that the CLP will preference me before the ALP.”

Mr Lawrence said he was confident he would win a senate seat as he was not tied down on a single issue.

“I’m anti-fracking and believe every Aboriginal community and outstation should have self-sufficient agriculture,” he said.

“The only way to close the health Gap is by improving remote Indigenous people’s diet.”

The poet is selling his book of poems and records to help fundraise for his campaign. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Mr Lawrence said Aboriginal voters were a key demographic he was targeting.

He spoke of his credentials with the Territory’s Indigenous population after decades “living out bush” working in remote communities.

He claimed his party’s focus on the legalisation of cannabis would help solve some of the more systemic issues remote Aboriginal communities face, such as domestic violence and alcoholism.

“It would lessen domestic violence considerably,” he said.

“Living in Arnhem Land for 40 years, I notice people drink less when they smoke cannabis — they’re also more likely to give you a kiss and a cuddle than a bashing.”

Mr Lawrence said cannabis consumption across the Territory was inevitable, with many people already smoking illegally at an incredible cost.

“It’s not cheap — I know of people paying $100 a gram in Arnhem Land,” he said.

“Legalising cannabis will improve the lives of Territorians.”

Mr Lawrence said 2025 would be his last tilt at a senate seat.

Originally published as NT Legalise Cannabis candidate says he’s in it to win, following promising 2022 senate results