Political Celebrities in Australia

Based off the lectures given by Ian Ward in POLS2111:Politics and the Media at UQ.

Why is it the case that there is not an obvious Australian example of a political celebrity who Street would describe as a  CP1?

In recent years, due partly perhaps to the commodification of personalities and politics, there has been much talk of the ‘celebrity politician’: politicians who gain a celebrity status and thus “…enjoy a greater presence and wider scope of activity and agency than (others)’. (Street). John Street describes two versions of  the celebrity politician, the CPI and CP2. Celebrity Politician 1 is the politician or candidate who uses elements of ‘celebrity hood’ to establish their claim to represent a group or cause. Celebrity Politician 2 is the celebrity who uses their fame for political purposes. It has been argued that there are no clear Australian examples of the CP1 in Australian politics, however it is the author’s view that this notion is incorrect.

Since the early 2000’s especially, there has been an increasing number of political figures who have used their status as a celebrity to catapult them into political positions. The most prominent example of this would be Peter Garrett, and his transformation from singer and environmental protesting to a cabinet member. In Victoria alone in recent years that have been two CP1’s, former aerial skier Kirstie Marshall, who was elected to represent Forest Hill, and former footballer-cum-architect-cum-politician-cum-minister Justin Madden. Another example of a particularly successful public figure-cum-politician is Maxine McKew, a tv journalist who later used her success to win a seat from the then Prime Minister, and gain a portfolio in cabinet.

These many examples of ‘celebrified figures’ with a political agenda – sports stars, journalists, singers, who have later used that popularity to establish their claim to represent a constituency, are all case studies that prove that Australia does in fact have ‘CP1s’, as well as ‘CP2s’.

References:

Haywood, Ben. 2004. Star Turn in Party Politics. Accessed: 19 May 2012. Available at: http://education.theage.com.au/cmspage.php?intid=135&intversion=105