By Robert Upe
US comedy TV star Stephen Colbert endorses 'best jobs in the world' candidate Jane Chiao.
US talk show host Stephen Colbert is among the celebrities who have endorsed entrants for Tourism Australia's "best jobs in the world" competition.
English naturalist David Attenborough and German supermodel Heidi Klum offered support to candidates.
Colbert, a political satirist and host of the popular Colbert Report, endorsed fellow American Jane Chiao, who is shortlisted for the "Chief Funster" job based in New South Wales.
Chiao will be hoping for the "Colbert Bump" – a running gag on the Colbert Report that refers to the boost guests receive to their careers once they have appeared on the show.
Chiao said her life "was complete" after Colbert endorsed her application.
Legendary BBC nature documentary presenter Sir David sent a letter to Britain's Mat Richards, who works at the Bristol Zoo and is shortlisted for the "wildlife caretaker" role in South Australia.
Richards said he spent hours "drafting the perfect letter, explaining to Sir David what my job role is, how long I've been involved with animals and how passionate I am to conserve our planet and it's future. I sent it with a large stamped, addressed envelope with extra stamps on just in case!"
"A week later I received a reply. What an amazing feeling! He stated that as we hadn't met, he was unable to endorse me, however he did wish me every success."
Watch Jane Chiao's video entry below.
The Tourism Australia competition attracted 45,000 video entries from around the world, with 150 shortlisted for six jobs.
The $100,000, six-month jobs include wildlife caretaker in South Australia, "chief funster" in NSW, park ranger in Queensland, taste master in Western Australia, outback adventurer in the Northern Territory and lifestyle photographer in Melbourne.
The 150 will be culled to 18 next week, based on their celebrity references and 30-second videos.
Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said the quality and variety of endorsements received had been as eye-catching as the original video entries.
"These candidates are obviously hungry for Australia's best jobs and have managed to secure support from some very impressive people, including film and TV stars, authors, musicians, supermodels, sporting stars, explorers, scientists, politicians, celebrity chefs ... you name it."
High-profile support and endorsement have also come from Australian cricketers Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, Bollywood actor Aadarsh Balakrishna, Academy Award winning actress Shirley Jones and former WBO super middleweight world boxing champion Joe Calzaghe.
The last 18 candidates will be invited to a final assessment in Australia next month and the six successful job candidates will be announced on June 21. The list has been culled from
All 150 short-listed videos can be viewed at www.australia.com/bestjobs or www.facebook.com/australiaworkingholiday.
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