Australians Speak Out

Truthful, Lawful, and Just Speech!
Making democracy thrive with the power of words. This is the first detailed assessment of the persuasive language styles of notable Australians from the 1890s to modern times.
The book reveals the rhetorical strength of extraordinary leaders, who use ordinary words to move hearts and minds. Illustrates how word choice, sentence shape, and passage development enable successful arguments for change.
Exploring creative uses of metaphor, humor, polemic, anaphora, and political jargon, with rhetorical flair. For anyone wanting to understand persuasive language, the author shares how prime ministers, other community leaders, and advocates of change find common ground with audiences.
Why and how notable Australians spoke out to:federate colonies of Britain in the South Pacific as one nation
make Australian women among the first to vote, in 1902
appeal directly to the people of the United States for wartime support
establish rights for First Nations
challenge sexism
reform laws to respect human rights
control guns
deal with the coronavirus pandemic
¿¿- and advance many other causes. Whether you'd like to speak out or assess persuasive language, this book describes the ways that word choice, sentence shape, and passage development enable successful arguments for change.
Detailing rhetorical strength in the speeches and writing of Sir Samuel Griffith, Louisa Lawson, Alfred Deakin, Dame Nellie Melba, John Curtin, Dame Enid Lyons, Sir Robert Menzies, Oodgeroo Noonuccal [Kath Walker], Kevin Gilbert, Gough Whitlam, Germaine Greer, Bob Hawke, Sallyanne Atkinson, Michael Kirby, Paul Keating, John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Noel Pearson, Scott Morrison, and more.
For ready access, a selection of notable speeches and writing is included.