BENNET NICHOL
Karel Boele is the sole candidate for the People Decide ‘group’ (unregistered political party) in the 2016 mayoral Brisbane City Council election.
Founder of the People Decide group, Boele has centred his campaign on the foundation of public participation in government.
The People Decide website doubles as a platform on which the public votes on any proposed bills or legislation proposed in council. Boele has signed a contract, which dictates that he (if elected) will vote with the clear majority of participants in the online poll. Therefore, Boele intends to be a representative for the majority of participants in the online poll.
This platform is the primary building block of his mayoral campaign, which sits in stark contrast to the leading Liberal and Labor candidate’s hard-line policy based campaigns.
Alongside his online method of community consultation, Boele has also outlined his intention to roll out ‘Timebanks’ in Brisbane. The scheme will allow participants to earn time credits for volunteering in community projects or to help other members.
They can then use these time credits to “purchase” other members time for projects or services. Boele promotes this time bartering system as a way to stimulate economic growth and increase industry work experience.
Boele holds several qualifications in the fields of strategic affairs, mechatronic engineering, religion and Asian studies. His current occupation is as director of Jnana Australia, an international political and economic research consultant.
