Keith Holyoake. Photo: Alexander Turnbull Library
Politicians get a lot of time on the radio. Their voices, tones and accents become incredibly familiar to us. Maybe all too familiar.
Politics is an 'in the moment' thing, often reported without much history or context. This extends to MP's style and presentation, yet political communication today is very different to how it once was.
The speech was often gentler and more formal. As is true today, many were immigrants who brought strong accents with them.
Parliament was not sitting this week, so instead of the usual suspects, here for your interest and comparison, the House has compiled a political busman's holiday - the voices of some of New Zealand's past political leaders.
Fourteen PMs (and a Speaker)
At the audio link above you can hear:
- William Massey - Prime Minister (1912-25), died in office. Here, praising the Empire.
- Gordon Coates - Prime Minister (1920s), blaming others for an election loss.
- George Forbes - Prime Minister (1930s), posh and formal, farewelling a British Governor General.
- Michael Joseph Savage - Prime Minister (later 1930s), discussing Nazis.
- Peter Fraser - Prime Minister (1940s) with a soft Scottish brogue.
- Ronald Algie - long time Speaker of the House, talking about politics as a 'clean game'.
- Sid Holland - Prime Minister (1950s) (a politician who did not play Algie's clean game), making jokes about a 'cost-of-living crisis'.
- Walter Nash - Prime Minister (late 1950s) - with a strong English Midlands accent.
- Keith Holyoake - Prime Minister (1960s), Governor General (late 1970s) - with a surprisingly plummy accent for a homeschooled rural boy from Pahiatua and Motueka.
- Jack Marshall - Prime Minister (1972). 'Gentleman' Jack, a pragmatist and apparently genuinely nice, disliked populists and was replaced as National Party leader by populist Rob Muldoon.
- Norman Kirk - Prime Minister (early 1970s), died in office. Possibly the first PM who had an identifiably modern 'Kiwi' accent.
- Bill Rowling - Prime Minister - also very Kiwi sounding, and the second from Motueka.
- Rob Muldoon - Prime Minister (1970s-early 80s), mocking opponents with a little added implicit 'just a joke' threat. Quite a distinct change from most of his predecessors, more familiar today.
- David Lange - Prime Minister (1980s), outlining urgent economic moves to try to cope with the economic shambles left by Muldoon.
- Mike Moore - Prime Minister (1990), briefly in office in the run-up to a 'hospital pass' election.
With thanks to RNZ's longtime radio historian Jim Sullivan, and long-time RNZ scheduler and audio-squirrel Gavin McGinley; and of course Ngā Taonga Kōrero Sound and Vision, who care for New Zealand's Oral and Visual history.
RNZ's The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk.
