“Activism in paradise”: A critical discourse analysis of a public
Tracking number
relations campaign against genetic engineering.
ICA-15-10063
16
Wellington a giant GE free sandwich ensured further media attention. Another hikoi (march)
arrived in Wellington on the day of the announcement of Government policy. Giant
billboards were erected in Auckland and a GE Free sign was painted to cover a paddock in
the Bay of Plenty.
The involvement of high profile New Zealanders ensured further publicity and media
attention for the campaign. A GE Free New Zealand photographic campaign was the
brainchild of Alannah Currie former member of the 80’s band ‘The Thompson Twins’. The
idea was twofold, firstly to promote the forthcoming rally at QE2 Square in Auckland on
September 1
st
and secondly, in the longterm, to become an ever evolving on-line exhibition of
images showing opposition to genetically engineered food in our foods and in our bodies.
(People against genetic engineering, 2001)
Other New Zealand entertainers were filmed or photographed preparing posters in support of
the campaign, including Bic Runga, Rena Owen, Rachel Hunter, Dave Dobbyn, Stella, Mikey
Havoc and Newsboy, and actors from the popular soap, Shortland Street (Doyle, 2001,
August 26).
A GE Free celebrity dinner in Auckland was organized by Tom Bailey of the Thompson
Twins, and internationally renowned fashion designers Karen Walker, Marilyn Sainty, World,
and Zambesi designed T-shirts in support of the campaign (Zander, 2001, October 27).
The level of media attention gained by the GE Free campaign, and the significant numbers of
people attending rallies throughout New Zealand suggest that the campaign was highly
successful in raising public awareness of the issues involved.
Convention