Greens leader Adam Bandt sent a heartfelt email to supporters mourning the loss of his dog – only to then repeatedly attach links urging them to donate to his party.
Daily Mail has obtained a shameless fundraising email Mr Bandt sent to party supporters on Thursday announcing the death of his family dog Max last weekend after ’14 years of friendship, love and fun’.
‘It’s not easy to say goodbye,’ the Melbourne MP wrote. ‘Our young kids have never known life without him, and one of them said it was like losing a big brother.’
But after memorialising the death of his ‘running buddy and chief hair shedder’, the tone of Mr Bandt’s email suddenly changed.
Mr Bandt said Max’s death got him ‘thinking about the world my children know… a world with pandemics and climate change, with kids living in tents and babies in rubble… and without Max.’
The email then linked four times to a donation page, where Greens supporters could choose to donate between $25 and $250, plus an option of making monthly contributions.
‘With your support, we’ll run a campaign to win historic growth in the parliament, so we can protect everything we hold most dear,’ Mr Bandt’s email said.
‘Change history… GIVE NOW.’
One political insider told Daily Mail the Greens have an elaborate and sophisticated email marketing system to target different voters.
The system allows them to generate different content to resonate with voters across the spectrum, from long-term, committed voters who have subscribed to the mailing list for years to newly registered email addresses who may be on the fence.
This particular email, while signed off by Mr Bandt, was sent from a broader ‘federal MPs’ address.
‘As you’ve heard me say, we’re on the brink of making history at the next election,’ he writes in the email.
‘So whatever you can give helps, every dollar makes a difference!
‘While some loss is a part of life, like losing our beloved Max, if we grasp this moment we can stop climate losses on an unimaginable scale. We can give our kids the world they deserve.’
The email is signed off with a final message, which reads: ‘PS. If you give before June 30, you can claim your donation on your tax return this financial year – all donations up to $1,500 are tax deductible. Some supporters have even donated their new tax cut to us!’
On the donation site itself, another message reads: ‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.’
The Greens have 15 MPs and Senators in the current federal parliament after several upsets in Queensland during the last election.
But they have ambitions of expanding even further, with up to seven seats with a high renter population in their sights.
With the balance of power, the Greens will have more sway over their key interests -housing and climate change – at a time when parliament is fraught with debate over both matters.
Despite his strong public stance against emissions and climate change, Mr Bandt came under fire for racking up an expenses bill of almost $1million a year, including hundreds of thousands on printing and two private jet flights.
The anti-fossil fuel campaigner also claimed $12,000 on a taxpayer-provided vehicle and petrol allowance plus $29,000 on government COMCAR trips and taxis, according to figures from the Department of Finance.
Mr Bandt recently copped flak for his social media marketing tactics.
He was ordered to delete a social media post he made targeting Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek due to concerns it contained misinformation back in March.
Mr Bandt accused Ms Plibersek of ‘fast-tracking’ environmental crises and making ‘dodgy deals’ in a Facebook post.
The video suggested that Ms Plibersek was boasting in Parliament about fast-tracking approvals for gas projects.
It then cut to harrowing videos from the various bushfire and flood tragedies which have hit in recent years, showing footage of people and animals in distress as a result of the environmental disasters.
According to the media code, photographs and footage of parliamentary proceedings must fairly and accurately represent those proceedings and must not be digitally manipulated.
A spokesperson for Mr Bandt told Daily Mail at the time the Minister’s reference to ‘resources projects’ are what drew his ire and prompted the post.
‘It is shameful that in a climate crisis, the Environment Minister boasted about approving new fossil fuel projects, and we will continue to hold her to account for her role in fast-tracking new coal and gas,’ they said.
‘At the next election, the Greens will be letting the people of Sydney know about every single coal and gas mine Tanya Plibersek has approved as Environment Minister.’