Social climbers: How Perth independents are bypassing mainstream media to reach voters

When the first results for Fremantle in Western Australia’s recent state election popped up showing independent Kate Hulett atop Labor incumbent Simone McGurk, eyes everywhere shot out on stalks.

How did the little-known owner of a high street gift shop, who only a couple of months before was recruited by community activists, manage to claw away McGurk’s 27 per cent advantage and come within 400 votes of claiming what would have been one of the most remarkable victories in WA political history?

Emma Pegrum (left) and Kate Hulett (right) record their A Piece of Kate podcast in Treeby, in the federal electorate of Fremantle.Credit: Mark Naglazas

And how did the people who spend their working lives analysing this stuff (media, academics, poll-takers and pundits) not notice the tidal wave that almost washed a popular government minister into Fremantle Harbor?

We were looking in the other direction. Reading newspapers and news websites and listening to radio. We failed to notice the artist-turned-retailer and her team working effectively in other spaces, with generous support from Simon Holmes à Court’s Climate 200), pulling attention-grabbing stunts such as cleaning up eternal cappuccino strip eyesore Hungry Jacks, but most significantly channelling huge energy into social media.

Hulett was recruited by Voices for Fremantle, part of a nationwide movement that sprung out of dissatisfaction with traditional party politics.

The Kate for Fremantle campaign realised Hulett was such a natural performer for the camera — relaxed, warm and humorous — they unleashed a series of snappily edited videos of the candidate bringing life to key talking points, walking the streets pointing out empty shops and neglected amenities.

The social media-driven state campaign was so successful that now Hulett has decided to challenge Labor’s Josh Wilson for the federal seat of Fremantle, she and her team have upped the ante, launching podcast A Piece of Kate featuring her and chief-of-staff Emma Pegrum.

In this chatty how-to campaign diary they explain what they have been doing on the hustings and reflect on what they are learning and what it means to be an engaged citizen.

“It all starts with the talent, of course,” says Pegrum, after the pair finish recording a podcast in front of a row of unfinished homes in the southern suburb of Treeby to highlight the housing crisis.

“Very early on in the state campaign we realised Kate was a star. She was such a natural in front of the camera. We would have been crazy not to use her.”

And while Hulett’s Labor rival Wilson is also an adept and persuasive performer in front of a camera, Hulett’s frank approach seems to chime with one of her core talking points: transparency.

Kate Hulett being filmed for social media at Spearwood bowling club. Credit: Mark Naglazas

“The major parties benefit from us not knowing stuff. They want to keep voters in the dark about the political process because it allows them to hang on to power,” Hulett says.

“The podcast is an act of radical transparency and honesty that allows voters to understand the process and to become engaged.

“People are telling us they have never connected with anything political until now because we are talking to them in a way they understand.”

Also radical is the involvement of Hulett’s chief of staff, who in other campaigns would be invisible. The long-time friends here are almost a double act, leveraging their natural habits of discussing improving their city and state, and the role creative industries can play.

Hulett, who built her gift shop’s customer base using social media, and Pegrum, a producer who has worked on a wide range of projects, said they approached the election as they would any new business or festival launch.

They say social platforms are how most people get their information now and advertising there is more cost-effective for reaching large numbers on a limited budget, even leaving aside the potential for organic reach.

They also say the flexible formats allow longer, in-depth conversations than mainstream media.

“Everyone we speak to, no matter if it is on social media, while knocking on doors or at community events, appreciates hearing someone actually talk about issues,” says Pegrum.

“They are sick of soundbite announcements.”

In a more traditional style, Priya and Josh Wilson hand out flyers at Cockburn Central.Credit: Mark Naglazas

While the success of these measures won’t be measured until election day, and pundits agree Hulett will struggle to unseat the popular Wilson in the much larger, more complex Freo federal seat, her numbers are remarkable.

Hulett’s clocked 4 million Facebook and Instagram post views recently, and while Curtin teal Kate Chaney has not released numbers, she is also placing socials at the centre of her battle to retain a seat she won in 2022 by the slimmest of margins – 1.3 per cent.

The Chaney reaction: pushing back against traditional media

Chaney, who faces a bruising battle with former Uber executive Tom White to prevent the Liberal Party from snatching back its once-prized seat, says traditional media has been extremely hard on independents and minor parties threatening to seize the balance of power.

“When traditional media plays politics, social media gives us the mic back,” she says.

“In an environment where some media outlets seem to have quite entrenched positions, socials allow us to share the facts and answer directly to the people we represent.”

Chaney, like Hulett, says social media facilitates conversations she can learn from rather than top-down messaging, while “other campaigns are throwing money into big billboards and attack flyers”.

Curtin University journalism senior lecturer Dr Glynn Greensmith agrees there is pushback against independents from major parties and mainstream media.

“[Independents] are responding to the hand they’ve been dealt,” says Greensmith.

Chaney keeps it real on her socials. Credit: Facebook

“They have been forced to find new ways of speaking to the electorate because the government and the opposition and the major news organisations have diminished their role.

“There are more than two parties in this country, but everyone has accepted the reality of Labor and Liberal, which is why we have been watching Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton debating on their own as if there were no other voices.”

He says a bipartisan approach to squeezing the funding of independents, designed to protect the two-party system, had hampered their visibility.

Curtin University journalism lecturer Glynn Greensmith.Credit: Mark Naglazas

He also says Australian elections, probably because of compulsory voting, are decided by mostly uninformed and uninterested voters, so any additional visibility can make a difference, but it’s about more than visibility.

“Despite the avalanche of rubbish that rains down on us during an election campaign,” Greensmith says, there is a paucity of worthwhile content, so Hulett and Chaney providing in-depth discussion of ideas, and showing more of themselves, can mean valuable traction.

“It feels organic. It hasn’t felt like the targeted, cynical ploy of a political machine,” he says.

“Social media is their medium, but what is essential is their authenticity. They are real people with real ideas who are not afraid to be imperfect.”

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