‘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 engaged in a war of words with Mr Portelli last May when the lottery company boss used a crane to lift his $2 million Maclaren hypercar into his $39 million penthouse on Melbourne’s South Bank.
Sir. Bandt had slapped the ostentatious display of wealth with a jab at him and Labour’s tier three tax cuts, which at the time rewarded the rich over the low-paid.
“Labor is giving this guy a $9,000 tax break while people are starving on $52 a day,” Mr Bandt wrote on X.
But after it was revealed that Mr Bandt has been embezzling the public purse, Mr Portelli – who rose to fame when he bought one of the homes on The Block – has now fired back.
He blasted Mr Bandt’s rubbish and branded the Melbourne politician a ‘bum’ after learning the Greens leader spent $23,000 of taxpayers’ money on private jets.
“It makes sense now you (Mr Bandt) want me to pay more tax,” Mr Portelli, 34, wrote in an Instagram post.
“So I can cover your chartered jets, you bum.”
Adrian Portelli has used the revelation Adam Bandt used taxpayers’ money to take private charter flights to hit back at Green leaders for a tweet last year
Sir. Portelli responded to a tweet sent by Mr. Bandt, who said he would have to pay more tax after a lavish display of lifting a Formula 1 racing car into a tower penthouse
Sir. Potelli responded to home finance mogul Mark Bouris’ post about Mr. Bandt’s use of two charter planes during the 2022 federal election was revealed as part of the $1 million in annual expenses he claimed in government documents.
“I can tell you it’s not cheap,” Mr. Bouris said of using private jets.
Sir. Portelli also took an explicit swipe at the tweet in another Instagram post, circling the offending words and offering the response: ‘People are starving on $52 and here you are using taxpayer money to pay for your private jets.’
On Tuesday, Mr Bandt was revealed to have used the private jets between Queensland regional centers Townsville and Rockhampton and along the well-traveled route from Brisbane to Canberra to witness his party’s election campaign.
In addition, Mr Bandt spent $57,000 of taxpayers’ money on domestic flights on himself and an eye-popping $372,000 in travel expenses for his 21 staff, despite his party’s core opposition to fossil fuel emissions.
But a spokesman for Mr Bandt defended the expensive trips.
“As the leader of the third largest political party in Australia, you would expect Mr Bandt to engage in extensive travel and, unlike the Prime Minister and many ministers, he does not have access to government VIP flights,” the spokesman said.
“All of Mr. Bandt’s expenses are within rights.”
Sir. Portelli also referred more explicitly to Mr Bandt’s social media disapproval expressed last year
A spokesman for Adam Bandt (pictured) defended the expensive trips
Sir. 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 entry through a smashed window.
He initially offered $100,000 for the identity of the thieves, but doubled the reward to $200,000 soon after.
He teamed up with his tech-savvy flatmate while in the US to develop several successful apps, which they then sold for huge profits.
In 2018, he co-founded LMCT+, a flashy lottery company offering 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 that provides 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 license 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.
Sir. Portelli said at the time that 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 so public and not have everything in order.
‘We have been in operation for five years now. I welcome anyone to come here and ask questions, tear it apart, bring it forward.’
Earlier this year, Mr Portelli welcomed a baby boy with girlfriend Karlie Butler.