The queue of people at Lismore Square this morning was something Lismore had not seen before. The line of people started inside the Square, near Coles, and snaked down the escalators to the carpark, through the carpark, and onto Brewster Street.

The reason? To receive a $100 or $200 Coles voucher thanks to thanks to Australian billionaire Adrian Portelli. In total $70,000 was given to those in the community who need help.

Travis was the person at the front of the line, so the first to shake hands with Adrian and receive his voucher.

"I got here at 6am," Travis said, "I had heard about it and figured it's going to be pretty hectic, so I needed to get in early. I just figured I need the money, I need the groceries."

(Travis was the first to receive his Coles voucher from Adrian)

"It's a bit hard, renting week to week, living paycheck to paycheck, but this is going to help a lot with dinner and everything."

Adrian is probably better known as the "Lambo guy" after turning up in his yellow Lamborghini and buying multiple properties on Channel 9's The Block in recent years. He is based in Melbourne and made his fortune through his company, LMCT+, which offers luxury shopping discounts and giveaways. 

This wasn't the first time Adrian had offered help in various communities throughout Australia. He said he doesn't like the media turning up at these events because it brings into question that the exercise is a publicity stunt instead of helping people in need.

"We started doing it with ToyWorld. So we were helping out children and families put presents under the tree. And then we decided to mix it up a bit. And what else do families need? They need their groceries and to put food on the table. So we started to team up with Coles because they've looked after me over the years. That's where the idea came from.

"Like I said, we've been doing this for years and years and years, and we didn't have the whole media storm. It's only recently, you know, I bloody got into the whole media thing. The media show up and take videos, and it's annoying because it almost discredits what we do. Because, unfortunately, people do think that we're doing it for publicity. But like I said, we did this for five years before this, and no one knew it, so just the people that are tight-knit in the community.

This is not Adrian's first time in Lismore, as he came to see the devastation after the 2022 floods.

"Lismore has always had it tough. When we came out a couple of years ago, we saw the devastation it had on the community. I've never seen anything like that. It looked like a third-world country when we came here last, it was unbelievable. A bloody plane in a tree, and the devastation was incredible.

"So, to come out here today, it means a lot. And the community, as you can see, has come out in numbers, and they need assistance. So we're here to help."

(Part of the queue that snaked its way to Brewster Street at Lismore Square)

"Obviously, I meet thousands of people. The stories are heartbreaking. As we said, we don't film all that, and we don't really speak about the encounters we have. But, yeah, it's just, it's heartwarming to be able to give assistance."

Adrian is a bit of a rock star in Lismore, and wherever he goes handing out the vouchers. The people in the queue were clapping, high-fiving, and paying him compliments as he took a walk along the line of recipients.

Lismore was the third stop after Brisbane and the Gold Coast over the last few days, with $210,000 of grocery vouchers distributed to the community.

The next stop for Adrian and his team is Western Australia.

"We haven't done Western Australia yet, so maybe we'll pop over to the west. It's the last state we haven't touched. So we might do Western Australia, and then we might do a loop around again."

If you missed out today, Adrian gave the impression he will be back, we just don't know when.