To the Aussies on my flist

[soleta_nf]

Have you guys heard about this controversy?: "[Current Canadian Prime Minister] Stephen Harper's 2003 speech urging Canada to join the U.S. assault on Iraq was plagiarized from one given by the Australian prime minister two days previously..."

If so, what's the national reaction? Link me to news stories if you have any! Thanks. :)

Comments

[st_aurafina]

Wow. I hadn't heard. (But it's kind of hilarious.) *googles* It appears to be just making news here now.

Here's what the ABC (our BBC) has to say: "Canadian PM accused of copying Howard speech"
Here's a story in "Canadian PM 'borrowed Howard's speech'"

[soleta_nf]

Hee, AWESOME. Love the stories you linked! :D TY!

[ashavah]

Nope, haven't heard anything about it, but I've been staying away from the news a bit lately.

*tries to imagine wanting to steal a speech by Howard*

*fails* But he does do a good line in fear rhetoric.

Here's an article from the Sydney Morning Herald (which is, I think, kind of like the Globe & Mail).

[soleta_nf]

*tries to imagine wanting to steal a speech by Howard*

LOL! Thank you! I hope this hurts the Conservatives badly. ^.^

[anonymous]

As It Happens interviewed the (an?) Australian speechwriter. He was more amused than outraged. (You can maybe find the interview on the CBC website.)

- Cyn

[soleta_nf]

I like how seriously this Australian story takes it:

"[Staffer Owen Lippert resigns and says Harper knew nothing about his plagiarism, yadda yadda.]

"That may be true -- but Mr Harper appears to have paid close attention to Mr Howard's words.

The Canadian Conservatives closely followed the Liberals' 2004 election campaign and ... Read MoreLiberal Party federal director Brian Loughnane visited Canada in the lead-up to the Conservatives' win in the 2006 election campaign.

Just as Mr Howard talked of "mainstream Australians", Mr Harper invoked "mainstream Canadians" as part of his poll pitch. Much of his rhetoric echoed Mr Howard's election-winning 1996 "for all of us" attacks on special interests.

The 49-year-old Mr Harper is seen as a conservative of the old school, the real deal in an age of David Camerons and Malcolm Turnbulls. It would be an irony if the words of a very successful old-school conservative destroyed his career.""

[soleta_nf]

I think the amusement comes from the fact that Howard apparently wasn't very well-known for his oratory style, also according to that story (and a guffaw from a comment above). :)

[anonymous]

Well, if it was "election-winning rhetoric", why not.

This is getting even further away from the Australian reaction than a Canadian radio show interviewing an Australian speechwriter, but here's a post I found interesting:

http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=656

"The first puzzle here is why we continue to feel that every political speech should be freshly ghostwritten. Why is it worse for politico X to read a passage written by ghostwriter A for politico Y, rather than by ghostwriter B for politico X?"

- Cyn