Politician joins OnlyFans but not for the reason you're probably expecting

Australian MP Stephen Bates has joined OnlyFans in the lead-up to the federal election.

The Greens' Stephen Bates is the Federal MP for the electorate of Brisbane, campaigning 'passionately' for 'renters' rights and housing justice, universal and free health and education, climate action and putting people before profit,' as per The Greens' site.

Brisbane is home to 'the second youngest voting demographic in Australia' as well as 'established community members who have made the city what it is today' as an 'epicenter of arts, culture, sports and entertainment', including 'LGBTQIA+ community venues, events and organizations'.

And it would seem Bates has taken a rather different approach to his campaigning in the lead-up to the federal election - occurring on May 3. But why?

Why Australian Greens MP Stephen Bates has joined OnlyFans

Well, Bates has reportedly joined the site in a bid to share more about the Greens' policy in the lead-up to the election.

Bates' move to OnlyFans follows a similar campaign strategy which saw him join Grindr back in 2022 - the campaign titled 'You always come first with the Greens'.

The Greens' site details recent statistics showing that OnlyFans is visited over 28 million times per month by Australia.

He said, as quoted by 7NEWS Australia : "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."

And he's already shared his first post on the platform.

Stephen Bates has launched an OnlyFans (Instagram/ @batesforbrisbane)

Australian Greens MP Bates' first OnlyFans post

Bates' first OnlyFans video shared information about Greens' plans to make HIV medication available for free to anyone 'with a script'.

The medication - PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) - 'significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission' and 'nearly 100,000 Australians use it to protect themselves and others'.

The Greens' site notes despite the medications being on the country's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme since 2018, the 'growing gap payment' means some people 'are out of pocket hundreds of dollars a year'.

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

Bates is using the platform to spread awareness of the Greens' policies ( Dan Peled/Getty Images)

"Ending HIV is too important to fly under the radar."

Bates' campaign is part of the Greens' 'transformative election policy to make contraceptives free, removing the financial barrier to sexual healthcare' alongside 'tackling LGBTIQA+ discrimination'. It plans to appoint a 'LGBTIQA+ Human Rights Commissioner to be a watchdog for the LGBTIQA+ community who still face discrimination at work, in education, in healthcare and in public life'.

It resolves: "Prevention and early intervention saves our healthcare system money in the long run."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.