Federal election 2025: Legalise Cannabis Party candidate Philip Arnatt says hemp is the future of WA

A severe health scare days before his last political attempt is not enough to deter Legalise Cannabis candidate Philip Arnatt from his mission to destigmatise cannabis and hemp as he gears up to campaign for the Federal seat of O’Connor. Now seeking to unseat Liberal incumbent Rick Wilson, the Bayonet Head resident first took a shot at the Albany seat in the State election earlier this year. Three days before the March 8 crunch day, however, Mr Arnatt suffered a heart attack. After surgery that saw a stent and balloon put in, medication and a bit of a lifestyle change, Mr Arnatt is keen to give campaigning another go and advocate for the cause he feels so passionately about. “I became a medical cannabis user about two years ago for mental health reasons and that helps me cope with life,” he said. “From there, I became more and more passionate about cannabis, and then learning more about hemp, which I find is very important. “I learnt that we can open up hemp industries in O’Connor — can you imagine the amount of jobs we could be creating, the open markets we could be developing?” The English-born candidate said the legalisation of cannabis and hemp is the “big change” required to push forward the country’s progression. “If all of a sudden, hemp licences can be given out, then farmers can start growing hemp and we could be making plastics, making diesel, wood, particle wood, paper. “There’s over 2500 separate products that can be made with hemp at this moment, and that’s only going to increase. “If you start planting hemp in salt-affected areas, it’s going to improve the soil and it’s a great in-between crop.” Mr Arnatt has tried his hand at many trades over the years, first working in his father’s pizzeria for 24 years before becoming a bricklayer, then a ceramic tiler, and then qualifying to become an aged carer in 2014. He was in the process of developing his own NDIS business when the Legalise Cannabis Party president came knocking at his door. “How many times did you get a phone call like that? No one ever asks anyone to be on a ballot paper,” he said. “Then they did it again and asked if I wanted to give it another crack and I said, ‘yeah, why not?’. “I had no aspirations of politics, and truthfully, I’ve got no idea how politics works. “I’m just the average guy, you know, just Joe Bloggs, who just feels strongly about why this isn’t happening.” He said promoting the hemp industry and legalising cannabis would flow on to alleviate the crises facing the housing, medical and environmental sectors. As well as the wider benefits, Mr Arnatt said people should have the right to choose cannabis as a recreational substance in lieu of the more “poisonous” commonplace drink and drugs. “It’s not just about choosing a beer or having a joint at night time — though that is our right to do that as well,” he said. “I mean, why should we have to drink poison that’s going to kill us? “Why do we have to have a cigarette that we’re allowed to have that’s going to kill us and we’re not allowed something that’s never killed anyone. “So really, who is the corrupt group here?” This is the fifth installment of the Albany Advertiser’s series on the Federal election candidates for O’Connor. Read about Liberal incumbent Rick Wilson, Labor’s Darren Moir, Nationals candidate Heidi Tempra, Greens’ Giz Watson, One Nation’s Gemma Johnston and Legalise Cannabis’ Philip Arnatt. Stay tuned for more.

Federal election 2025: Legalise Cannabis Party candidate Philip Arnatt says hemp is the future of WA

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