Outlandish Australian Election Candidate Crowdsources Campaign Video

General elections, no matter where they are held in the world attract their mix of heated debates as well as colourful and controversial running candidates. In the upcoming Australian Federal Elections, of the many candidates looking to unseat the incumbent Prime Minister Julia Gillard, none come more colourful and controversial than Bob Katter. No stranger to headline grabbing antics which have had Australians laughing and expressing outrage in equal measure, the self-proclaimed independent has turned to crowdsourcing in search of the winning campaign video.

As outlandish as he might seem, Bob Katter clearly has qualities that voters admire given that he has been a serving political representative for his home State of Queensland for nearly forty years. After having served as second lieutenant in the Combined Maritime Forces, Katter earned a living in various fields including insurance, mining as well as cattle interestes before turning his eye to politics. In 1974 he was elected to the State Queensland Legislative Assembly serving as it's member until 1992. Katter was then elected to the Federal House of Representatives for Kennedy in Queensland.

Recently during his campaign, Katter has entertained and infuriated Australian voters from claiming the Bieber cut as his own to calling for missile-equipped boats to patrol his country's borders protecting them from asylum seekers. Competition for the most coveted political seat in Australia is hotting up and Katter is rising to the challenge by using crowdsourcing to find a campaign video that best reflect his policies and personality. Submissions should be no more than 60 seconds in length and cover topical issues ("important stuff") such as nation building, what it means to be an Australian, and protecting local jobs. The deadline for submissions is 7th June 2013.



The tagline for Katter's YouTube call states that "this election, Bob Katter is doing something different. This election, Bob Katter is shaking things up." The decision to use crowdsourcing and social media reflects this statement, an innovative move to get the voting public involved in his campaign, something many politicians still avoid. Whilst it could be seen as refreshing to see crowdsourcing used in political campaigns, those who view Katter as an embarrassment might wish more serious candidates followed his ideal. Nevertheless the prospect of crowdsourcing as a democratizing tool is slowly being recognized in politics as evidence by Bob Katter's latest call.

Image Credit; mrsdkrebbs