Legalise Cannabis Western Australia Party
Constitution and Rules
1. Name
• 1. The name of the Party shall be Legalise Cannabis Western Australia (Party) (in the rules called the Party)
• 1.2 The abbreviation of the Party’s name shall be LCWA Party.
2. Aims
The Aims of the Party shall be:
• 2.1 to endorse and promote candidates to contest elections to both houses of the Western Australian Parliament
• 2.2 To re-legalise Cannabis for
• 2.2.1 personal use
• 2.2.2 medical and therapeutic uses and
• 2.2.3 industrial purposes
• 2.3 collecting and disseminating knowledge relating to all or any of the Party’s aims
• 2.4 campaigning to, and lobbying of, all sectors of the community
• 2.5 organising fund raising for the Party
• 2.6 conducting and facilitating research relating to all or any of the Party’s aims
• 2.7 to apply for and seek public funding for electoral purposes in accordance with the
provisions of the Australian Electoral Act 1918 as amended
• 2.8 do all such things as may be necessary, expedient or desirable to carry out the aims of
the Party as seen herein.
3. Membership
• 3.1 Any person enrolled on the electoral roll and eligible to vote in elections to the
Parliament of Australia shall be eligible to be a Member of the Party
• 3.2 Acceptance of Membership to the Party is the determination of the Secretary
• 3.3 No initial fee shall be payable by a Member of the Party
• 3.4 Members may join the Party by filling in a Membership form either electronically
• 3.4.1 A Member may resign from Membership of the Party by giving written notice
thereof to the secretary of the Party
• 3.4.2 persons convicted of a disqualifying electoral offence within the previous ten
years will be barred from joining the Party or continuing as a Party Member.
• 3.5 It is a condition of Membership that:
• 3.5.1 Each Member supports the aims of the Party and agree to accept the rules and
regulations of the Party
• 3.5.2 Members do not nominate against any preselected or endorsed candidates of the Party for election
• 3.5.3 Members do not actively oppose the Party during any election
• 3.5.4 Members, upon election to a Parliament or Local Council as an endorsed
candidate of the Party must actively support the aims of the Party as listed from 2.1 to
2.8
• 3.6 Complaints Resolution Procedure
3.6.1 Where a complaint is received by or about a Member of the Party, the matter will be resolved according to the most current version of the LCWA Complaint Handling Policy and a dedicated HR Person from outside the committee.
• 3.6.1.1 An electronic copy of the most current version of the Party Complaint
Handling Policy will be made available to any current Member within two
business days, on request.
• 3.6.2. Subject to giving a Member an opportunity to be heard or make a written
submission to an Extraordinary General meeting of the Executive Committee the
Committee may resolve to discipline a Member, up to and including expulsion from the
Party.
• 3.6.3 Expulsion of a Member
• 3.6.3.1 The Executive Committee the Committee may resolve to expel a
Member for any misconduct detrimental to the interests of the Party including
any breach of rules 3, and 7.1, 7.2.
• 3.6.3.2 Expulsion by the Committee is effective immediately a motion to such
effect is passed.
• 3.6.3.3 An expelled Member shall be notified by electronic or ordinary mail
sent within two business days of the Member’s expulsion
4. The Executive Committee
• 4.1 The Executive Committee of the Party shall be comprised of;
• 4.1.1 Secretary, who will be responsible for the carrying out of the administration,
the keeping of the records, and for the conduct of the correspondence of the Party.
• 4.1.2 Treasurer
• 4.1.3 President
• 4.1.4 Vice President
• 4.1.5 Agent
• 4.1.6 Assistant Secretary
- 4.1.7 Ordinary committee members should number between 3 and 5 and can be appointed for specific tasks such as membership officer or publicity officer etc
• 4.2 The Executive Committee in office at the date of registration of the Party shall hold
office initially for a period of no more than one year from the date of such registration and
shall be eligible for re-election at the Annual General meeting of the Party.
• 4.3 Incumbent and past office bearers will be eligible to nominate for re-election at any
Annual General meeting of the Party.
5. The Annual General Meeting
• 5.1 The first Annual General Meeting of the Party will be held within 6 months of the Party successfully being registered with the Electoral Commission of Western Australia
• 5.2 Elections for office bearers will take place at the Annual General Meeting of the Party. Any Member of the Party is eligible to stand for election
• 5.2.1 The secretary shall give 28 days notice of the AGM in a suitable newspaper in Western Austalia and via electronic communication such as email to Members who provide an email address for correspondence
• 5.3 Members nominating for the positions on the Party Executive Committee shall do so on the Party’s prescribed nomination form. Forms must be received by the Secretary no later than 10 business days prior to the AGM by electronic or regular mail.
• 5.4 All voting at the Annual General Meetings will be open ballot by those present at the
meeting in person or who are attending by online meeting platform such as zoom.
• 5.5 The secretary of the Party may make such regulations for the calling of Extraordinary
General meetings as may be appropriate to further the aims of the Party.
• 5.6 The Annual General and Extraordinary General Meeting can only meet for purposes if a quorum of any three Members of the Executive Committee plus four other general Members is reached. (7)
6. General Meetings
• 6.1 General meetings are to be held at a minimum quarterly, but may be held more
frequently at the discretion of the Executive Committee, as necessary to meet the aims of the Party.
• 6.2 General meetings may be held in person, via electronic platform, or any combination as decided by the Committee from time to time.
• 6.3 The Treasurers report on the financial status of the Party shall form part of the agenda
• 6.4 The minutes of a general meeting will be made available to the Membership in
electronic format (e.g. via email) no later than 30 days after the date of the general meeting upon request by any member
• 6.5 General business arising between general meetings may be dealt with via in-person,
telephone, written or electronic communications between all Committee Members, as decided by the Committee from time to time.
7. Endorsement of Election Candidates
• 7.1 Candidates for election to the West Australian Parliament shall be endorsed or dis-
endorsed by a majority vote decision of the Executive and Ordinary Committee members of the Party using the “principles” of the model rules for a democratic selection process.
• 7.1.1 Candidates shall only be eligible for pre-selection if they meet the Party
criteria for candidates listed on the pre selection application including police criminal check and info given in their biography.
• 7.1.2 The Party criteria for candidates shall be made available to any Member via
electronic mail within two business days, on request.
• 7.2 The allocation of preferences, if any, to other parties and/or candidates in elections to
Parliament shall be determined by the candidate/s in consultation with Executive Committee
8. Amendment of the Constitution
• 8.1 The Constitution of the Party may be amended, varied or added to on the
recommendation of the Executive Committee provided that any such amendment is approved by a majority of Members at an Annual General Meeting.
9. Adoption
• 9.1 This Constitution was adopted by majority vote at the first meeting of the
Party Steering Committee on xx/xx/ 2020