Speech · Australian · Language Analysis

Penny Wong: 2024 address to the UN General Assembly

A breakdown of the language techniques and tone only, not the politics. Read the full address at the source, then use the technique flow and tone collage below.

National statement

Penny Wong

Australia’s national statement to the 79th UN General Assembly, as Foreign Minister

United Nations, New York · 27 September 2024

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Source

Where this is from

Speaker: Senator Penny Wong, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs
Occasion: Australia's national statement to the general debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly
Date: 27 September 2024, New York
Form: Diplomatic address (national statement)
Full text: foreignminister.gov.au — national statement →

Australian Government transcripts are generally published under a Creative Commons Attribution licence. Quotations below are still kept brief and focused on technique.

The United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York — Illustrative image, not from the event. The UN General Assembly Hall, New York. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Technique flow

From device to effect

Technique

Reframing move

In the speech

no longer… but

Effect on listener

a policy change reads as an evolution

Technique

Both-sides balance

In the speech

condemn Hamas, then criticise Israel

Effect on listener

speaker looks even-handed; harder to dismiss

Technique

Rule-of-law appeal

In the speech

binding orders of the ICJ

Effect on listener

opinion becomes obligation

Tone

Key tones and their effect on the reader

measured diplomatic grave careful insistent principled formal restrained concerned

measured / diplomatic grave / insistent principled / concerned

Orientation

Form and register in one line

A national statement to the UN is drafted to be parsed word by word by other governments. The register is formal, careful and heavily qualified, and any change in position is signalled through precise phrasing rather than emphasis.

Techniques

Language techniques

The reframing move

Australia no longer sees Palestinian recognition as the destination of a peace process, but a contribution… towards peace.

Effect: the no longer… but structure marks a shift in policy while making it sound like a natural evolution rather than a reversal.
Balanced both-sides structure

Condemnation of Hamas and a call for hostages' release is set beside criticism of Israel's conduct in Gaza.

Effect: pairing the two keeps the speaker positioned as even-handed and makes each criticism harder to dismiss as partisan.
Dark imagery

The world is described as enshrouded in darkness.

Effect: a single vivid metaphor in an otherwise plain text raises the emotional stakes and frames the moment as a crisis requiring action.
Modal and conditional hedging

Frequent must, should, we call on and we want to engage on.

Effect: the modal verbs let the speaker press a position firmly while leaving room to move; diplomacy runs on this controlled vagueness.
The rule-of-law appeal

References to binding orders of the International Court of Justice and to international law.

Effect: grounding the argument in established institutions shifts it from opinion to obligation and invokes a shared standard other states have already accepted.
Abstraction and generalisation

Key claims are stated at the level of principle: Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price…

Effect: phrasing a position as a general principle rather than a specific instruction makes it easier for other delegations to endorse without conceding particulars.

Try it

Practice angle

Find one sentence where the position shifts, and one where it is deliberately kept vague. Write a paragraph on how a diplomatic speaker uses qualifiers and modal verbs to move a position without appearing to change course.

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