Fear technique

The fear technique is yet another feature of Australian political discourse.This technique firstly produces some kind of potential threat to the public，and then provides solutions from which the public can then choose from.In reality，however，these solutions constitute choices made by the politician，and not the public.In contemporary politics，the fear technique continues to be widely employed in Australian political speech.When a politician agitates the public's fear against immigration or crime，and proposes that voting for him/her will reduce the threat，s/he will use this technique.If we compare the speeches made by Hanson and Hitler，we can soon discover how in their endeavours to enforce their illocutionary force and gain popular support，these two leaders use the fear technique in a similar way.

The streets of our country are in turmoil.The universities are filled with students rebelling and rioting.Communists are seeking to destroy our country.Russia is threatening us with her might，and the Republic is in danger.Yes—danger from within and without.We need law and order！Without it our nation cannot survive.（Adolf Hitler，1932）

Compare this now with Hanson's impassioned plea to the nation：

Mr Acting Speaker，time is running out.We may only have 10—15 years left to turn things around.Because of our resources and our position in the world，we won't have a say because neighbouring countries such as Japan with 250 million people，China（1.2 billion），India（1 billion），Indonesia（250 million）and Malaysia（300 million）are well aware of our resources and potential.WAKE UP AUSTRALIA BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

Here is yet another fear scenario concocted by Ms Hanson：

We now have a situation where a type of reverse racism is applied to mainstream Australians by those who promote political correctness and those who control the various taxpayer funded industries that flourish in our society，servicing Aboriginal，multiculturalists and a host of other minority groups.

The opposition leader Beazley also utilises the fear technique for similar purposes：

A tax from the cradle to grave...This is a tax Australia should never，ever have.And which we could never，ever，get rid of...if a tax looks like it is going to hurt，that is because it will.

The intention of all three speakers in the above passages is to instil and exacerbate the negative attitude of their audience towards such issues as tax reform，affirmative action，and racial tolerance.