Stephen James Bates (born 23 November 1992) is an Australian politician who was the member for

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

from 2022 to 2025 as a member of the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...

. He was elected in the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 May 2022, to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Morrison government, Liberal–National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, soug ...

, defeating sitting Liberal member and former National Retail Association CEO Trevor Evans. He was defeated for re-election in

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

by Labor's Madonna Jarrett.

Early life and education

Bates was born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

; his family moved to Australia during the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, settling in the central Queensland town of

Yeppoon Yeppoon () is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. Yeppoon is renowned for its beaches, tropical climate, and the islands out on the bay. Located from the city of Rockhampton, Yeppoon is the seat of ...

. Bates studied at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

, originally for a Bachelor of International Hotel and Tourism Management. While studying, he went to the United States to pursue a work opportunity. Bates has stated that his experience in the United States is what convinced him to enter politics, specifically his encountering of a coworker crying over whether to buy

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

or pay her rent. When Bates moved back to Australia he changed his degree to a Bachelor of Social Science with a major in social and public policy, and graduated under that degree. Prior to being elected, Bates was a retail employee and a member of the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union.

Political career

Bates first ran for office at the

2020 Queensland state election The 2020 Queensland state election was held on 31 October to elect all 93 members to the 57th Parliament of Queensland, 57th Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The Queensland Labor, Labor Party was returned to government for a third-term, led ...

for the seat of

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

. Bates was then the nominee of the

for the

Division of Brisbane The Division of Brisbane is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the states and territories of Australia, state of Queensland. History The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of t ...

in the

, defeating incumbent MP Trevor Evans. Bates' campaign was noted for its use of geo-located

Grindr Grindr () is a location-based social networking and online dating application for gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender people. It was one of the first geosocial apps for gay men when it launched in March 2009, and has since become the large ...

advertisements with risqué slogans, such as promoting that "the best parliaments are hung". In an interview with radio station

B105 FM B105 (call sign 4BBB) is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, on a frequency of 105.3 MHz, and is part of Southern Cross Austereo's Hit Network. The station has undergone numerous branding changes over ...

, Bates credited the ads as a vital component of his election victory. In the

2025 Australian federal election The 2025 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 3 May 2025, to elect members of the 48th Parliament of Australia. All 150 seats in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives were up for election, along with 40 ...

, Bates lost his seat after suffering a -1.36% swing against him in the primary vote, causing him to be excluded from the two-candidate preferred count. The Labor candidate Madonna Jarrett notably received a +4.90% swing towards her.

Personal life

Bates is openly gay and joined the Greens on the night of the 2019 Federal election. He graduated UQ with a Bachelor of Social Science with a major in social and public policy.

References

External links

Official website

Stephen Bates' profile
on the Queensland Greens website
Stephen Bates' profile
on the Parliament of Australia website * 1992 births Living people Australian Greens members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Brisbane LGBTQ legislators in Australia LGBTQ people from London Australian gay politicians Politicians from the London Borough of Croydon Trade unionists from Brisbane People from Yeppoon English emigrants to Australia University of Queensland alumni {{AustralianGreens-politician-stub Australian MPs 2022–2025