Adam Bandt

Early life and education

Adam Bandt was born in Adelaide, South Australia—a descendant of German immigrants who emigrated to the Hahndorf and Barossa Valley regions in the 1800s. As a child, his family moved to Perth, Western Australia where he attended high school and university, before moving to Melbourne.

At Murdoch University, Bandt was a student activist and member of the Left Alliance. He graduated in 1996 with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees, and was awarded the Sir Ronald Wilson Prize for Academic Achievement. While a student, he was quoted as calling the Greens a "bourgeois" party. He was president of the student union and an active campaigner for higher living allowances for students, and for free education. From 1987 to 1989, he was a member of the Labor Party.

Pre-political career

Prior to his election to parliament, Bandt lived in Parkville and worked as an industrial, labour relations, and public interest lawyer, and was a partner at a major national law firm. He had articles published on links between anti-terror legislation and labour laws and worked on issues facing outworkers in the textiles industry.

In 2008, Bandt completed a PhD in law and politics from Monash University, with his thesis titled "Work to Rule: Rethinking Marx, Pashukanis and Law". In 2012, he described his thesis as looking "at the connection between globalisation and the trend of governments to take away peoples' rights by suspending the rule of law", saying he "reviewed authors who write about the connection between the economy and the law from across the political spectrum", ultimately arguing "that governments increasingly don't accept that people have inalienable rights". Bandt had his thesis suppressed for three years in the hopes of having it published as a book.

2007 federal election

Bandt was preselected to stand as the Greens candidate for the federal Division of Melbourne at the 2007 election against Labor's Lindsay Tanner, the then Shadow Minister for Finance. Bandt finished with 22.8 percent of the primary vote, an increase of 3.8 percent, and 45.3 percent of the two-candidate preferred vote after out-polling the Liberal party's Andrea Del Ciotto after preferences. Nationally he was the most successful candidate from any minor party contesting a House of Representatives seat. Bandt sat on Bob Brown's frontbench.

2010 federal election

Following the 2007 federal election Melbourne had become Australia's only Labor/Greens marginal seat. Bandt was preselected as Greens candidate for the second time, running against a new Labor candidate, Cath Bowtell, following the retirement of long-time member Tanner from Federal Parliament. At 8:22 pm on election night, 21 August, he declared victory for the Australian Greens. Bandt received a primary vote of 36.2 percent and a two-party-preferred vote of 56 percent against Labor, a swing to him of 13.4 and 10.8 points, respectively. His main policy interests are environmental and human rights issues, having "nominat[ed] pushing for a price on carbon, the abolition of mandatory detention of asylum seekers and changing the law to recognise same-sex marriage as his top priorities in parliament."

2013 federal election

In 2013 Bandt was re-elected in the seat of Melbourne, despite this time the Liberal Party directing preferences to Labor ahead of The Greens. Bandt retained the seat with a 42.6 percent primary and 55.2 percent two-party-preferred vote. Bandt sat on Christine Milne's frontbench.

In 2015, upon the change of Green leadership from Christine Milne to Richard Di Natale, Bandt did not re-contest the deputy leadership saying he had a new baby due in the upcoming weeks. Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters were elected unopposed as co-deputies.

Personal life

Bandt's partner is former Labor staffer Claudia Perkins.