By David Southwell For Daily Mail Australia
06:38 13 Mar 2024, updated 06:49 13 Mar 2024
- Property developer hits back at Greens leader
- Labels Adam Bandt a ‘bum’ over private jet use
- READ MORE: Portelli offer $200,000 reward to catch thieves
‘Lambo guy’ businessman Adrian Portelli has branded Greens leader Adam Bandt a hypocrite after it was revealed he spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on private jets.
The eco-MP had launched a war of words with Mr Portelli last May when the lottery company boss used a crane to lift his $2million Maclaren hypercar into his $39million penthouse on Melbourne‘s South Bank.
Mr Bandt had slammed the ostentatious display of wealth with a jibe at him and Labor’s Stage Three tax cuts which at that stage rewarded the rich over the low-paid.
‘Labor’s giving this guy a $9,000 tax cut while people starve on $52 a day,’ Mr Bandt posted on X.
But after it was revealed Mr Bandt has been jetting around on the public purse, Mr Portelli – who shot to fame when he bought one of the homes on The Block – has now returned fire.
He blasted Mr Bandt’s waste and branded the Melbourne politician a ‘bum’ after learning the Greens leader spent $23,000 of taxpayer money on private jet flights.
‘It makes sense now you (Mr Bandt) want me to pay more tax,’ Mr Portelli, 34, wrote in an Instagram post.
‘So that I can cover your chartered jets, you bum.’
Mr Potelli was responding to home finance mogul Mark Bouris’s post on Mr Bandt’s use of two chartered flights during the 2022 federal election that was revealed as part of the $1million in annual expenses he claimed by government documents.
‘I can tell you firsthand that’s not cheap,’ Mr Bouris said about the private jet use.
Mr Portelli also explicitly took a swipe at the tweet in another Instragram post where he circled the offending words and offered the reply: ‘People starving on $52 and here you are using taxpayers’ money to pay for your private jets’.
On Tuesday, Mr Bandt was revealed to have used the private jets between Queensland regional centres Townsville and Rockhampton and along the well-travelled Brisbane to Canberra route to attend his party’s election campaign launch.
In addition Mr Bandt spent $57,000 of tax payers’ money for domestic flights on himself and an eye-watering $372,000 in travel expenses for his 21 staff despite his party’s core opposition to fossil fuel emissions.
However, a spokesman for Mr Bandt defended the costly trips.
‘As the leader of the third largest political party in Australia you would expect Mr Bandt would engage in extensive travel and unlike the Prime Minister and many Ministers he doesn’t have access to government VIP flights,’ the spokesperson said.
‘All Mr Bandt’s expenditures are within entitlements.’
Mr Portelli is best known online for giving away thousands of dollars through his company LMCT+, and bidding on properties from Channel Nine reality TV juggernaut The Block.
Last month Portelli shared two CCTV videos of a group of thieves inside his north Melbourne office who had gained access through a smashed window.
He initially offered $100,000 for the identity of the thieves but doubled the reward to $200,000 shortly afterwards.
He teamed up with his tech-savvy flatmate while in the US to develop several successful apps, which they then sold at enormous profits.
In 2018 he co-founded LMCT+, a flashy lottery business that offers lavish prizes including luxury homes, cars and cash under a legal loophole.
Technically it sells subscriptions, costing up to $100 a month, to a buyers club providing discounts across more than 700 retailers.
But LMCT+ is best known for its high-profile giveaways, which it operates as a ‘trade promotion’ — a type of lottery originally designed to help businesses attract customers by rewarding them with prizes — under a licence issued in NSW.
In October, gambling regulators in South Australia and Victoria launched investigations into the company after receiving complaints, while NSW’s Office of Fair Trading said it had investigated LMCT+ in 2022 and found no evidence of any wrongdoing.
Mr Portelli said at the time he ‘welcomed’ the investigation.
‘I pay six figures every week in tax, I’m happy to pay my tax,’ he said. ‘You can’t be this public and not have everything in order.
‘We’ve been operating for five years now. I welcome anyone to come here and question, tear it apart, bring it on.’
Earlier this year Mr Portelli welcomed a baby boy with his girlfriend Karlie Butler.