1996 Party Political Broadcast
Winston Peters on behalf of NZ First uses all his personal gravity and charisma, not to mention an immaculate suit,
to drum up the votes. He copies the old Muldoon trick of eye-straight-at-the-camera.
"... Twelve years ago you became the subject of a far right experiment... a new Labour government decided to
forget all its campaign promises and plunge NZ into the brave new world of Roger Douglas and Richard Pebble.
They promised you prosperity, they promised you freedom, they promised you a better tomorrow... they delivered
exactly the opposite. Then six years ago National was elected promising to fix all this. Well, they fixed it
all right... National's decent society turned out to be a place where they ditched their manifesto promises,
and a society that rewarded just the few, because for some people, this is a better place... it's better for
the rich, better for the criminals, better for party political appointees... it's better for foreigners and
private interests who now own over 16 billion of state assets which once used to belong to you. It's better
for foreign companies like Telecom, who farm us New Zealanders for obscene profit, and then run down democracy
and the kiwi spirit to other foreign investors... for them and their selfish concerns, NZ is the land that National
and Labour promised them... these few truly have had a recovery, but for you and your family, for ordinary people,
for hundreds of thousands of forgotten New Zealanders, NZ has become a meaner place, a harsher place in which to live,
in which to raise our children... "
Discussion Points
- An air of authority is created not only by the direct address of the well-presented, serious Peters, but also by the background – the books suggest the person is learned in whatever it is they are discussing.
- The direct address – "You became the victims …"
- Connotations – an "experiment" Lab animals etc
- Allusion – "…brave new world…"
- Parallel construction – "They promised …"
- Informal/conversational tone – "Well, they fixed it all right" ironic humour.
- The old "Because, you know" – a favourite of the Royals to establish a conversational, friendly relationship with the listener/viewer.
- Statistics – "Over 16 billion…" We assume that’s Kiwi dollars, not lire or yen.
- Emotionally-toned adjectives – "obscene"
- Comparatives – "meaner…harsher"
- "Hundreds of thousands of forgotten New Zealanders."
