Greens Brisbane candidate says ‘Best parliaments are hung’

Stephen Bates, Greens Brisbane candidate in the 2022 federal election, this week placed ads on QNews and other platforms, saying among other things, ‘The best parliaments are hung’.

The cheeky ads reference predictions of a hung parliament following the election on Saturday, May 21.

Stephen Bates will appear tonight at the Brisbane Pride Business Network’s Politics at the Pub. Labor’s Madonna Jarrett and current Liberal member for Brisbane Trevor Evans will also address the event.

The best parliaments are hung

Aside from the reference to hung parliaments, other ads for the Greens Brisbane candidate say, ‘You always come first with the Greens’ and ‘Spice up Canberra with a third’.

Spicey though the ads may be, none as yet reference the infamous parliamentary prayer room. We will wait… and pray.

Stephen Bates, Greens Brisbane candidate

In addition to QNews, Stephen Bates also placed ads on gay hookup app Grindr.

Stephen described the response to the ads as ‘overwhelmingly positive’.

“You’re never going to be able to please everyone all of the time but these ads are doing a great job of getting people to engage with the Greens.

“I think campaigning is about meeting people where they are at. We have knocked on close to 10,000 doors, been at numerous community events, at markets, and so much more.

“These ads are just another way to connect with the community and have fun while doing it.”

The federal seat of Brisbane includes a high density of LGBTIQ+ voters and also one of the youngest voter demographics in the country. Stephen Bates said that as a gay man he understood how much the community relied on apps.

“The slogans and ads are fun but also have a serious underlying message. We are heading for a hung parliament after the election where the Greens could use the balance of power to make real, positive change on climate and cost of living.”

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