Following the recent tragedies of asylum seekers, fiery debates have been instigated with regards to who the blame should fall on. In the opinion piece ‘Don’t blame me, blame Julia Gillard’ published in the Herald Sun, Andrew Bolt contends in a predominantly critical tone that the Gillard government should hold responsibility over the deaths. The article is targeted towards the general public, particularly those with an interest in immigration policies.
Bolt initiates the article with rhetorical questions which question when we should blame Julia Gillard. He questions ‘if not now, when?’ and ‘before the next boat sinks, or after?’, which sets the tone of the article as well as attempting to compel readers to adopt and ask themselves the same questions. As a result, this appeals to the reader’s sense of sympathy and fear for future deaths, and may therefore begin to believe that someone should take responsibility immediately. Additionally, Bolt utilises pejoratives such as ‘pious’ and ‘delicate’, intending to ridicule the opposition. This is compounded with usage of the phrase, ‘hold up their skirts in horror’ in an attempt to evoke images of the opposition as a young, naïve girl. Consequently, a seed of scepticism may be planted in the readers mind towards the capabilities of the current government. Furthermore, ‘lured’ and ‘tempted’ is used by Bolt to describe the way asylum seekers boarded the boat, alluding to the fact that the government was cunningly plotting and scheming to send these people to their deaths. In turn, the scepticism readers have been pre-positioned with may intensify and cultivate a sense of distrust towards the government and question their real motives.
Similarly, Bolt employs the use of repetition ‘they lie’ which is ultimately intended to harbour a sense of guilt in readers, allowing them to believe that should they support Julia Gillard, their ‘lying’ would be frowned upon. Thus, readers are compelled to associate themselves with Bolt and agree Additionally, the repetition of ‘too early’ and ‘never the right time’ mocks Julia Gillard by insinuating that instead of solving the problems, she is postponing discussion of the issue and avoiding the situation. This may evoke frustration in readers, after realising the prime minister’s irrationality and unwillingness to take political action.
To further fuel his argument, Bolt uses the dysphemism ‘fatal’ to describe Labor’s laws as to emphasise the inhumanity of the policies. In doing so, Bolt is able to appeal to the readers’ sense of justice and invoking readers to question whether the allowance of asylum seekers being ‘lured’ by the Labor party’s policies is right or wrong. Moreover, Bolt describes the government’s actions as ‘criminally reckless’ in order to reveal the flaws within Julia Gillard’s reign. By also mentioning that the boat people had ‘conveniently drowned out of camera range’ connotes a sense of deceit in which Julia Gillard does not want people to know the exact number of deaths because she herself feels guilty for ‘tempting’ the boat people to Australia. Ultimately, readers may cumulate a sense of doubt towards Julia Gillard, knowing that the prime minister herself is aware of the immorality of her actions.
The image accompanied with the article is designed to strike the readers heartstrings. On the pale background of the blue waves, the boat’s dark colours stand out and is immediately recognised as the centrepiece of the image, with the boat’s poor conditions evident as shown by the ragged sheet of plastic used as means of shelter. Furthermore, the boat being photographed to be on a slant followed by the waves crashing upon the boat implies that the most likely outcome for the boat is to sink and attempts to foster a sense of sorrow in readers. Subsequently, readers may form the idea that asylum seekers should not risk their lives to reach Australia and may begin to believe that policies need to change.
Throughout the article, Bolt maintains his stance and contentiously argues his point of view on Gillard’s immigration policies. His intentions are made known to the readers and allow them to question the validity and credibility of the government and its laws, through the use of a variety of techniques, most of which makes the Labor party appear deceptive.
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