EXCLUSIVE: Dianah Walter has established the unregistered unendorsed group for the federal election.
The Legalise Cannabis Party's lead candidate for the Senate in South Australia has withdrawn her candidacy and resigned her party membership.
In an exclusive interview with 6 News, Dianah Walter announced she would instead run in the Senate as part of 'SA Matters', an unregistered unendorsed group. Her running mate is Dr Rod Pearce AM.
Speaking on The Perspective with Leo Puglisi, Walter said that after joining the party, she "realised pretty quickly I'm an independent person".
"There was a matter that came up that essentially caused me to double-think about my loyalty to the state, and I didn't want that called into question, so I quite simply thought about what the future would look like for me".
"It wasn't a decision I took lightly, but I decided to withdraw my candidacy based on my loyalty to the state".
Dr Pearce, a general practitioner, says "between us we can be a way that local people in South Australia, anywhere, can actually be heard through a Senate ticket".
It's understood the Legalise Cannabis Party will still contest the Senate in SA, although no replacement candidate has been announced as of publication. 6 News has reached out to the party for comment on Walter's resignation.
Walter will still appear in the upcoming 6 News Senate debate, now as an SA Matters candidate. Also appearing in the debate are Christopher Brohier (Family First), Jennifer Game (One Nation) and former senator Rex Patrick (Jacqui Lambie Network). It will be held live on Wednesday 19 March at 7pm ACDT (7:30pm AEDT).
The Legalise Cannabis Party will still be represented at the debates in Victoria and Queensland, with debates also planned for Western Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania.
The federal election will be held in May after prime minister Anthony Albanese ruled out an April election amid ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.