Meet Our Lead Senate Candidate for NT
Lance Lawrence has spent a lifetime championing the cause of cannabis, earning himself a legendary reputation in the NT as a skilled horseman and bush poet. His autobiographical epic poem, All in a Day's Work, was famously set to music by Judith Durham.
In the most recent election, Lance ran as a Senate candidate for Legalise Cannabis, pulling an impressive 6.2% of the vote—the highest of a Senate candidate for the Party. His connection to cannabis runs deep, discovering its health benefits in his youth and advocating for its decriminalisation for over 40 years.
Lance’s early life was far from ordinary. Born to parents who were petty criminals and alcoholics, he and his twin brother (now deceased) spent nearly a decade in four different Catholic orphanages. As one of his iconic poem recounts, his father retrieved him from the final orphanage at age 11, only to put him straight to work—first on a dairy farm, then droving sheep and cattle, and later doing station work. His father took every penny Lance earned until the day Lance broke free and joined the stock camp at Victoria River Downs. “He never stole from me again!” Lance declares.
In Darwin, Lance worked as a barman and spent a few years in pub and nightclub security before buying a farm at Pine Creek in 1974. For the past decade, he’s been living and working in South-East Arnhem Land, serving as an interpreter for the seven Ugulmangi tribes.
Lance has twice served time in jail for cannabis. “I still haven’t figured out who my victims were”, he quips. Beyond cannabis, he’s passionate about other issues, including self-sufficient agriculture for Indigenous communities and reforming school curriculums.
These days, Lance relies on cannabis more than ever to manage chronic physical pain—what he calls “horse damage”. He continues to fight for decriminalisation.