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Adam Bandt Biography Quotes 8 Report mistakes

Adam Bandt, Politician
Attr: The Guardian
8 Quotes
Born asAdam Paul Bandt
Occup.Politician
FromAustralia
SpouseClaudia Perkins (2013)
BornMarch 11, 1972
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Age53 years
Overview
Adam Paul Bandt (born 1972) is an Australian politician and the federal leader of the Australian Greens. Since 2010 he has served as the Member of the House of Representatives for the electorate of Melbourne, becoming the first Greens candidate to win a lower‑house seat at a general election. A former industrial and public-interest lawyer, he is known for his advocacy on climate action, workers’ rights, housing affordability, and expanding universal public services.

Early Life and Education
Bandt grew up in Australia and later settled in Melbourne. He studied law and the humanities at university and went on to complete a doctoral degree focusing on the relationship between law, power and politics. His academic interests, particularly around rights, democracy and the economy, shaped his later policy priorities and parliamentary work.

Legal and Academic Career
Before entering federal politics, Bandt worked as an industrial and employment lawyer, representing workers and unions in cases involving workplace rights, discrimination and job security. He also undertook research and teaching in law and politics, publishing on questions of legal theory and democratic participation. This combination of practice and scholarship informed his emphasis on evidence‑based policy and legislative detail.

Entry into Politics
Bandt joined the Australian Greens after years of student and community activism on social justice and environmental issues. He first contested the federal seat of Melbourne in the 2007 election, building a strong local profile. In 2010, following the retirement of the sitting Labor member, he won the seat, marking a breakthrough for the Greens in the House of Representatives.

Member for Melbourne
Since 2010, Bandt has been re‑elected multiple times, consolidating Melbourne as a Greens stronghold. In Parliament, he has introduced and supported legislation on:
- Climate action and a faster transition from coal, oil and gas to renewables
- Stronger worker protections, secure jobs and fairer industrial laws
- Making dental and mental healthcare more affordable and accessible
- Free or lower‑cost TAFE and university
- Housing affordability, including large‑scale public and affordable housing investment and renter protections

He is known for detailed committee work, frequent private members’ bills to seed debate on long‑term reforms, and negotiating with governments to strengthen legislation.

Leadership of the Australian Greens
Bandt became leader of the Australian Greens in 2020, succeeding Richard Di Natale. Under his leadership, the party sharpened its focus on climate science‑aligned targets, stopping new coal and gas projects, tackling inequality through progressive taxation, and addressing the housing crisis.

The 2022 federal election was a landmark result for the Greens in the lower house, with the party holding Melbourne and gaining three additional seats in Brisbane, Ryan and Griffith. In the subsequent Parliament, Bandt and the Greens used their expanded crossbench influence to negotiate improvements to climate and housing legislation, pushing for stronger emissions safeguards and increased investments in social and affordable housing.

Political Positions and Policy Priorities
- Climate and energy: Rapid emissions cuts, ending approvals for new coal and gas projects, accelerating renewables and storage, and supporting affected workers and regions through a just transition.
- Economic justice: Progressive taxation of high wealth and corporate profits; closing loopholes; strengthening the social safety net.
- Work and industry: Secure jobs, fair bargaining, and stronger protections against wage theft and unsafe conditions.
- Public services: Expanding Medicare (including dental and mental healthcare), investing in education and research, and rebuilding public housing at scale.
- Democracy and rights: Integrity in government, robust anti‑corruption measures, and protection of civil liberties and First Nations justice.

People Around Him
Bandt’s leadership has been shaped by collaboration with colleagues across the Greens and the broader crossbench, including:
- Predecessors and mentors: Richard Di Natale (former leader), Christine Milne and Bob Brown (former leaders who consolidated the party’s national profile).
- Current parliamentary colleagues: Mehreen Faruqi (deputy leader), Larissa Waters, Nick McKim, Sarah Hanson‑Young, Jordon Steele‑John and other Greens senators.
- Lower‑house colleagues from the 2022 breakthrough: Max Chandler‑Mather (Griffith), Stephen Bates (Brisbane) and Elizabeth Watson‑Brown (Ryan), who work closely with Bandt on housing, climate and cost‑of‑living policy.
- Former colleagues: Figures such as Scott Ludlam and, later, Lydia Thorpe (who left the party and sits as an independent) have also been part of the evolving Greens cohort around Bandt.

Approach to Negotiation and Advocacy
Bandt is known for combining public campaigning with detailed legislative negotiation. He often frames political outcomes in terms of what they deliver in real emissions reductions, homes built, or services expanded, and has pursued a strategy of extracting concrete improvements to government bills in minority or near‑minority parliaments.

Public Image and Communication
As a communicator, Bandt emphasizes clear, values‑based messaging, particularly around the climate crisis, inequality and cost‑of‑living pressures. He uses social media and community forums to explain complex policy and to mobilize grassroots support, while maintaining a strong local presence in Melbourne through constituent services and community events.

Personal Life
Bandt lives in Melbourne with his partner and their two children. His background outside politics, as a lawyer and researcher, remains visible in his emphasis on workers’ rights, evidence‑informed policy and the rule of law.

Legacy and Impact
Adam Bandt’s tenure has coincided with the Greens’ strongest lower‑house performance and growing influence on national debates about climate, housing and economic fairness. Whether in opposition or on the crossbench, his leadership has pushed climate policy toward stronger targets, broadened discussion of universal public services, and elevated housing affordability as a central federal issue. His blend of advocacy and negotiation has helped translate movement demands into legislative change, shaping Australia’s policy conversations in the 2020s.

Our collection contains 8 quotes who is written by Adam, under the main topics: Justice - Freedom - Health - Equality - Decision-Making.
Frequently Asked Questions
  • Greens leader Adam Bandt: Leader of the Australian Greens since 2020; MP for Melbourne
  • Adam Bandt - news: See latest coverage on ABC News, The Guardian Australia, SBS, or his official channels
  • Adam Bandt election: First elected in 2010; re-elected in 2013, 2016, 2019, 2022
  • Adam Bandt electorate: Melbourne (VIC)
  • Adam Bandt salary: About A$230k base MP salary, plus a loading as Greens leader
  • Adam Bandt wealth: Not publicly disclosed; see the parliamentary Register of Interests
  • Adam Bandt wife: Claudia Perkins
  • How old is Adam Bandt? He is 53 years old
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8 Famous quotes by Adam Bandt