Brisbane is one of the races that has the three biggest parties in Australia really pitted against each other and Stephen Bates, who won the seat on preferences from third at the last election – surprising most political pundits – is continuing his tradition of campaigning in off-the-beat ways.

Last election he utiilised the dating site, Grindr. This year, it’s OnlyFans, a subscription site for adult content.

It’s been used by activists in the past to spread messages – because with 28m visits a month just in Australia, it gets the eyeballs.

Bates has used his first video on the platform to announce the Greens plan to make PrEP and PEP prescriptions free, for anyone who has a script.

As Bates says:

PrEP and PEP significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission. Nearly 100,000 Australians use it to protect themselves and others. While PrEP and PEP have been on the PBS since 2018, the growing gap payment means users are out of pocket hundreds of dollars a year. 

Prevention and early intervention saves our healthcare system money in the long run. This announcement goes hand in hand with the Green’s transformative election policy to make contraceptives free, removing the financial barrier to sexual healthcare. 

Bates said that people shouldn’t have to choose between their health and rent:

In a cost of living crisis, that’s just too much. You shouldn’t have to pay a fortune to be sexually responsible. 

Ending HIV is too important to fly under the radar. I campaign on OnlyFans and Grindr because it gets attention. Sometimes you have to make a splash to make people pay attention to the things that matter.