LCWA Initiative |
Millions |
| 🌍 Environmental Futures Fund | $350 |
| 🌱 Hemp Innovation Fund | $300 |
| 🎓 Education Reform | $100 |
| 🩺 Regional Health Initiative | $100 |
| 💧 Water Wise Homes Fund | $20 |
| 💼 WorkSafe Reform & Expansion | $15 |
| ⚖️ Judicial Commission | $11 |
| ⚙️ Streamline our Courts | $10 |
| 🏳️🌈 LGBTQIA+ Commission | $10 |
| 🧠 Front Line Mental Health Support | $10 |
| 📜 PCO & Legislation Funding | $10 |
| 🚭 Vaping Regulation & Education | $10 |
| 🚑 Medical Cover in Watch Houses | $5 |
| 🏢 Build-to-Rent Housing Scheme | $2 |
| 🤝 Keep Our Politicians Honest | $2 |
| 🏡 Localise Planning Laws | $2 |
| 🌟 Introduce LG Rates Cap | $0 |
| 💰 Remainder: General Revenue | $293 |
Grand Total |
$1.25B |
🌿Where is the Money Coming From?
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Dr Brian Walker’s recent economic report shows that over a four-year forward estimates period, we can generate up to $1.25 billion in additional state revenue by legalising cannabis for personal use. That gives us the hard spending limit for our election commitments. |
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🌱 Environmental Futures Fund – $350m
Legalising cannabis will allow for the creation of an Environmental Futures Fund here in WA:
Climate change doesn’t require you to believe in it before it impacts your life, and we all know that there will be unexpected environmental events going forward – floods, droughts, or freak storms – as well as more predictable ones, such as rising sea levels, and coastal flooding. That’s why we’ve committed to the creation of an Environmental Futures Fund, to be topped up with at least $85m annually, via the money unlocked by the legalisation of cannabis. This fund will grow, year on year, and will be available to tackle those unforeseen environmental events, from coastal erosion to water shortages, from bushfires to storms.
🌱Hemp Innovation Fund – $300m
Legalising cannabis will unlock billions in environmental savings:
As one of its signature pieces of policy, LCWA will commit to the creation of a $300m Hemp Innovation Fund here in Western Australia, to maximise the potential of our local industrial hemp growers and associated businesses.
🎓 Education Reform – $100m
Legalising cannabis will allow us to make urgent reforms to education:
LCWA is committing $100m in additional revenue, raised through the legalisation of cannabis for personal use, to fund a full and frank review of the Independent Public Schools system; the decentralisation of administrative and educational support to better meet regional needs, and to increase funding to the Vocational Education in Schools initiative.
🌏 Regional Health Initiative – $100m
Legalising cannabis will allow us to properly fund regional health and mental health initiatives:
Our health service is close to breaking point, with many rural initiatives having been starved of funds in recent years. That’s why we propose to commit $100m from the legalisation of cannabis to bolster regional health and mental health initiatives.
⚖️ Judicial Commission – $11m
Legalising cannabis will ensure that there is one law for everyone:
LCWA will commit $10.5m over the four years of the next parliament to establish and fund a Judicial Commission tasked with examining complaints levelled against judges, and ensuring that mistreatment at the hands of the law is recognised and resolved in a timely and public manner.
🚑 Medical Cover in Watch Houses – $5m
Legalising cannabis will deliver 24/7 medical cover across Perth watchhouses:
Perth’s watchhouses currently lack 24/7 medical cover for both detainees and police officers, leading to both civil rights activists and police representatives calling a budgetary increase to cover this, but the government has been crying poor. That’s why LCWA is committing $5m from the legalisation of cannabis to make this common sense and potentially life-saving policy a reality.
🧠 Front Line Mental Health Support – $10m
Legalising cannabis will allow us to support out frontline workers:
LCWA is committed to reinstating the two-day Mental Health First Aid course which Labor stopped funding for police officers in 2019, and to expanding that service to include all frontline workers (police, firefighters, nurses, etc). Out $10m investment, available through the additional funds available from the legalisation of cannabis, will ensure that our frontline workers get the mental health support that they need, when they need it most.
🌈 LGBTQIA+ Commission – $10m
Legalising cannabis will help to secure equity for all:
LCWA is committing $10m from the funds raised by the legalisation of cannabis to establish a Minister for Equity, a cabinet-level post charged with ensuring that everyone in WA can live their lives as their authentic selves, without fear of exclusion or discrimination. Under this Minister, an LGBT Commission will be established, cementing the work done in recent years towards social acceptance and legal equality, while acknowledging that we still have considerable work to do in both regards.
📜 PCO & Legislation Funding – $10m
Legalising cannabis will allow for modern, meaningful legislation:
LCWA is committed to a suit of modern, meaningful legislation to improve the lives of all Western Australians. To that end, we are committing $10m of the funds from the legalisation of cannabis to enhance and better staff the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office, enabling crossbench and opposition members alike to better propose legislation and amendments for the public good. With this additional tranche of funding secured, it is anticipated that legislation on the following issues would be prioritised as a matter of urgency: Changes to the Road Traffic Act to properly distinguish between the presence of THC and impairment; the introduction of a WA Gender Equality Act; reforms to planning law, to reinstate local control over local projects; and legislation to introduce a rates cap across WA local governments.
🛠 WorkSafe Reform & Expansion – $15m
Legalising cannabis will make workers safer:
LCWA is committed to significantly increasing the resources available to WorkSafe, allowing that organisation to take a leading role in the prevention of, and response to, workplace gendered violence and sexual harassment. To that end, we are committing $20m from the income generated through the legalisation of cannabis to the establishment of a standalone psychological, violence and gendered violence unit within WorkSafe, with increased resources dedicated to both compliance and prosecution. We will also require WorkSafe to produce a report on impairment at work, to include the rights of workers who have been prescribed medicinal cannabis to continue to be employed in their chosen field without unnecessary discrimination.
💧 Water Wise Homes Fund – $20m
Legalising cannabis will curb water wastage across WA:
LCWA will establish a $20m Water Saving Fund to provide grants to home builders who install dry toilets and/or grey water management systems into new residential builds across WA.
⚙️ Streamline our Courts – $15m
Legalising cannabis will streamline our judicial system:
Legalising cannabis in WA would lead to a saving of at least 11m per year in the Justice portfolio alone, through savings in court time, police time, and associated resources. LCWA will commit $8m over the next four years to establish and run a diploma-level training course for Justices of the Peace, educating them to a sufficient level to confidently allow those who chose to do so to resume their roles as substitutes for magistrates in minor cases, leading to yet more savings, as well as a better level of community involvement within our justice system.
🏠 Build-to-Rent Housing Scheme – $2m
Legalising cannabis will allow us to build homes across WA:
LCWA will commit $2m of funding from the legalisation of cannabis to establish a public housing initiative within Treasury, designed to give Local Governments access to low-interest loans to build homes for rent, as part of an official LG Build to Rent initiative. The housing shortage in WA must be addressed as a matter of urgency, and this scheme, while administrative in nature, promises to unlock badly needed funds that would allow local councils to step up, provide housing, and profit from the process on behalf of their ratepayers.
💨 Vaping Regulation & Education – $2m
Legalising cannabis will allow us to properly regulate vaping, and educate our kids:
The government’s knee-jerk reaction to vaping is entirely out of proportion, and harmful to our community. Instead, LCWA is committed to a state-wide education programme, and the proper regulation of the industry. To this end, we are committing $10m of additional funding, secured through the legalisation of cannabis, to work with legitimate vape vendors, and to develop an education programme for schools.
🛒 General Revenue
After funding these proposals—around $1.0 billion—the remaining millions go to general revenue. This helps support critical services without overextending the new income stream.
🌿 Why cannabis?
🌱 What about hemp?
🎯 Check out our funding commitments.
💰 Read Dr Walker's Economic Report