‘I’m here to put a Katter amongst the pigeons’: Margie Ryder says she will ‘absolutely not’ be politically correct

Margie Ryder’s comedy chops are coming out in full force as she tries to engage with voters on a shoestring budget – including doing political speeches while setting crab pots, and faking a tattoo.

Margie drops a crab pot while delivering a video on the election.

Former Townsville City councillor Margie Ryder – who encourages the nickname “Mad Maggie” – has been delivering mum-quality, passionate, and sometimes risqué, videos to Facebook and TikTok as she seeks to engage with Townsville voters on a shoestring budget.

Currently running as a Katter Party candidate in the electorate of Townsville against Labor’s Scott Stewart and Liberal’s Adam Baillie, Ms Ryder has offered up some blanket warnings to her followers.

“Will I always be politically correct? Absolutely not. Will I be loud and proud about where I come from? Absolutely I will. Will I make mistakes and drop the F-bomb? This is an absolute guarantee,” Ms Ryder said.

Getting around in her pink Elite Rodeo cap, Ms Ryder has videoed herself boarding the Palm Island ferry carrying a fishing rod, joked her old school St Margaret Mary’s College was named after her, and delivered political wisedom while chucking in a crab pot.

Her latest video shows her apparently getting a full sleeve tattoo of skulls and flames to show her dedication to the Katter cause.

Margie Ryder fakes getting a tattoo in a video where she claims to be so serious about politics, she is willing to get a full arm tattoo.

“One of my friends had a coronary and called me up and said ‘please tell me it’s not real’,” Ms Ryder said of the fake tattoo – it turns out she did, in fact, use a temporary sleeve.

“I did that video because someone asked me if I was actually serious about politics, and I wanted to show that’s how serious I am.”

Ms Ryder said her larrikin approach was who she was.

“That is my nature, I can’t suddenly be a polished politician,” she said.

Aside from showing off bikini sunburns and montages of her fishing trips, Ms Ryder has also brandished an electric chord in a video about physically disciplining children.

From her veranda in Deeragun, Ms Ryder said she supports smacking children – or as she put it: “giving them a bit of curry”.

“Do you know someone who’s been hit by a jug chord? Well I do, and they turned out wonderful, turned out so good I married him,” she said.

“Let’s look after the rights of the parents.”

She is advising those in the Townsville electorate to vote with their gut.

“Go with your gut feeling, go for someone who’s going to look after North Queensland and be a voice for North Queensland,” she said.

“This election has definitely been a challenge, the LNP are shining through but Labor is holding its own in this seat, and I’m in the middle causing chaos.”

Ms Ryder says her political aim is to “put a Katter amongst the pigeons”.

The majority of Margie’s material is being posted to her Facebook page (Margie Ryder) which has 2700 followers.

Her TikTok (@madmaggies7) has 3197 followers.

Ms Ryder said her biggest online claim to fame is a video with her nephew from 2023 where they were trying to recreate a viral dance and “nearly got chased by a lady with a potato”.

“I said look we got 20,000 views on this and he said put your glasses on, we got 2 million views,” she said.

“We went viral.”

Ms Ryder is a former Townsville City Council and McKinlay Shire councillor, and was the woman behind Julia’s DirtNDust festival and the first “rock concert for people over 40”.

“I mortgaged my house to stage the first over-40s rock concert and they had us down on the plane and talking to Kochie on Sunrise about it,” she said.

“Then I started Mad Maggies Outback Promotions.”

Election day is this Saturday, October 26.

Originally published as ‘I’m here to put a Katter amongst the pigeons’: Margie Ryder says she will ‘absolutely not’ be politically correct