Who Am I?

(2011)
The following is text to the speech, Who Am I?, which I gave at the 2011 State Semi Finals of
the Plain English Speaking Award (Victoria).
Who am I?
Well I know who I am, and I am not just talking about my address nor my age. I'm talking
about my culture, the languages I speak and how they combine to make me. But do you know
who you are, and why is language such an important part of this?
Take the indigenous people of Australia for example. They arrived here over 40,000 years
ago. Since then, they have spoken more than 750 distinct languages and have created a rich
cultural heritage. Today, however, this culture is slipping away. Their celebrations, their
religions, their cuisine, their artthese are all disappearing. But how and why is this
happening?
As I just said, there were once 750 indigenous languages in Australia; now there are a mere
18. It is no surprise then, that we are seeing a loss of indigenous culture. Without language,
there are no means to communicate concepts and ideas, there are no means to teach and
learn about culture. The indigenous people could, in theory, use English to replace their own
languages, however, English lacks the vocabulary needed to communicate indigenous
beliefs, such as those regarding the dreamtime.
Unfortunately, language death, leading to the loss of culture, is not confined to the indigenous
languages. Broad Australian English, or ocker English has also started to decline in use,
which is leading to the loss of some more key aspects of Australian culture.
According to the website www.aussieexperts.com (which is an Australian internet based travel
office) the top reason to come to Australia is that Australia has a people of legendary
friendliness. Furthermore, tourism Australias most successful advertisement, which starred
comedian and actor Paul Hogan, was not based on our vast and beautiful landscapes, but
rather our easy going attitude and our rich vernacular. Viewers are told that the only thing they
need to know before coming to Australia is how to say gday.
This simple, and chiefly Australian word is being used less and less in todays society. Were
replacing gday with British and American equivalents such as hey and sup. Our slang is
what allows us to identify ourselves as Australian and to celebrate this. Gday, among other
pearlers such as: well, pearler, no worries, cobba, bugger, sheila, aussie, mozzie, cossie,
frothin and troppo, is the key to expressing our national identity.
Australian English isn't just for the "working class Aussie". As we know, "we are one, but we
are many, and from all the lands on Earth we come". This lyric sums up our nation perfectly.
No matter our heritage, no matter our race, no matter the colour of our skin, no matter how
much money we earn, we are all Australian. With our slang, we show this. Take the film "Wog
Boy" for example. The main characters, who are portrayed by Vince Collosimo and Nick

Giannopoulos, both call themselves wogs. They took a term, usually reserved for insults, and
turned it into a word to positively express their identity. Whilst the film is full of references to
the differences between their childhood and the childhood of a typical anglo-saxon Australian,
the film is also chock-a-block with Aussie slang.
"Wog Boy", and the whole concept of wog, is about celebrating both one's European heritage
and celebrating being an Australian. It's about celebrating the multiculturalism of this nation.
We can enjoy this celebration of identity and the music, festivals, stories and food that comes
with it, because of language.
Language is to culture as air is to humans. Without air, we cannot last, without language,
culture cannot last. Thus, the preservation of our language, is essential to preserve our
culture and to continue to celebrate the rich and diverse identity of Australia.
So the question is, what can we do?
By chucking the odd Australianism into a sentence, by being that friend who speaks to mum
on the phone in that "foreign language which nobody understands" and by hearing all of the
stories from nan and pop, nonna nonno, baba i deda or oma und opa, we start to learn
about and develop our language and our cultural identity.
It may seem a small and silly idea, but we're a sharing and caring bunch. Our language is
made up of some words from mum and dad, some words from our teachers or colleagues
and some words from our mates. Its always changing and is always open to influence.
We need to go back to the basics and bring back Aussie slang and then watch as everyone
else follows.
Every culture is worth preserving, so lets stop beating around the bush, and do something
about preserving ours.
So, its time we all start asking ourselves, who am I?

Media Gone Nuts (National)

The following is the text of my speech, Media Gone Nuts, that I gave at the national finals of
the Plain English Speaking award.
There is not a hole in the ozone layer. Despite years of having this idea shoved at us by our
media, there is not a hole in the ozone layer.
In reality, what we are experiencing is something called Ozone depletion. We are not as well
protected from solar radiation and therefore, the temperature rises. If there were really a hole
in the ozone layer, as we have been lead to believe, we would be exposed to the full wrath of
the sun. Now, I can only speak for myself, but Im not on fireare you?
How has an entire nation been lead to believe something so outrageous? Is it only
sensationalised rubbish that we are being fed, or is it worse? When did journalism lose its
moral core in the pursuit of money?

This is a somewhat light-hearted example of media gone nuts. The modern media has
ditched its moral responsibilities for nothing more than financial gain.
Now, dont get me wrong. We should expect the media to try to make money. But it is the
methods they are using to do so that are worthy of our attention.
Long gone are the days of sensationalism. Back then, it was simple. A bit of dramatization,
misinformation and fear mongering lead to a healthy serving of public anxiety, and that public
anxiety converted itself into a nice wad of cash in the media moguls pockets. Kaching,
kaching for the media!
Unfortunately, one day a particular media mogul decided that sensationalism wasnt quite
enough. He decided that to sell his newspaper, he must rely on the truly immoral. His name is
Rupert Murdoch and he is the man at the centre of the news of the world scandal.
In most of our pockets is a mobile phone. Its a fairly simple device. It makes calls, sends
texts and may do any number of things for you.
And sometimes, it seems, a phone is the only way to reach the outside worldthe only way
to let our friends know that, well, we are still breathing. At least, this is what Milly Dowlers
parents thought.
Milly Dowler is dead.
In 2002, Milly Dowler was abducted on her way home from school. Soon after she was
murdered in cold blood. Before Millys parents learned of their daughters death, they
submitted a missing persons report and quickly set out to find her.
For seven months, police, family and friends searched far and wide for Milly, but no luck. The
only shred of hope for Millys family came from her phone companysomehow, she was
deleting her voice mail messages! Milly must be alive.
She wasnt.
News of the world journalists were hacking Millys phone. They listened to her voice mail
messages, and then deleted them. They heard her familys desperate pleas. They stripped
Millys family of their privacy and gave them false hope.
Millys family isnt the only one left devastated by News of the World Journalists. At a recent
parliamentary investigation into media ethics, countless witnesses came out of the woodwork
to stand up against the unethical, immoral and inhuman standards of the media in Britain.
Surely, this isnt happening in Australia though? Our media has always acted ethically, right?

A dingos got my baby.

Thirty years after the death of Azaria Chamberlain, the words her mother cried out at
journalists still manage to strike a chord. In fact, her story was made so huge by the media,
that jokes about the death of Lindy Chamberlains daughter even made it onto TV shows like
Two and a Half Men.
But who was Lindy?
Lindy Chamberlain was born in New Zealand, but soon moved to Australia. She grew up here
and had a family. After some time in Tasmania, Lindy and her family moved to Queensland.
Theres nothing particularly interesting to say about Lindy. She was just an ordinary person
with an ordinary life, like you and I.
It was only after, well, a dingo got her baby, that her world changed. Soon she became a
household name in Australia. And after that, the story became a media hit around the world,
selling newspapers left right and centre.
But what about Lindy? What about her family? What about thirty years of trial by media? Eh,
who cares, shes only one person.
One persons life completely ruined by the greed of the media.
It is this attitude that leaves families in ruins.
Nobody can escape. The sports stars, the writers, the humanitarians, the academics, the
musicians, the artists, actors, actresses, chefs ordinary peopleLindy and Milly.you and
I.
Regardless of who you are or what your circumstances may be, if youre going to sell papers,
then the media will stop at nothing to tell your story.
But, whos to blame for this?
Perhaps the easiest way to go would be to stick it on the government? They are responsible
for protecting our interests, so why have they failed us here? They must be responsible for
fixing the media!
But what if, we just said that the media were to blame? That makes sense. They are the ones
who are robbing people of their privacy and acting immorally. Surely they should be held
responsible!
The media and the government do have a roll to play in this, but what about us?

We are, after all, the reason the media exists. If we didnt buy their product, why would they
go to the effort to distribute it?
In fact, today we are actually a part of the media. We call it social media and the only
difference between it and the rest of the media is that we manage it.
On websites like Facebook and Twitter, we can read and discuss everything from the political
situation in Mozambique, to declining breakfast cereal to box ratioswhatever we choose
really.
Social media does not stop at that, however. Much like our own every day media, it is driven
by immoral and unfair invasions of privacy. Social media is full of gossip. Whether it be about
people in the public eye or Jimmy Stevens from Bacchus Marsh, there is a constant stream of
images and snippets of information being uploaded each day.
Despite this, despite the cyber bullying of celebrities and ordinary people alike, we still choose
to indulge. Each day, more and more people connect to these websites.
Social media is defined by our choices. Content wont spread unless we choose to share it. In
fact, content wont even be there in the first place unless we choose to publish it.
So it raises the question, is it the medias standards that are declining, or ours? Are they
really just immoral, unethical and unfair, or are they just giving us what we want?
And if we are the media; what can we do to stop media gone nuts?