2016 Quote of the Year finalists announced

Thursday, December 8, 2016

2016 Quote of the Year finalists announced

From Prime Minister John Key’s shock farewell speech to Dylan Kelly’s fond memories of his late mother, 2016 has thrown up plenty of opportunities for Kiwis to say memorable things.

The 10 shortlisted finalists in Massey University’s annual Quote of the Year competition have been announced and now the public has one week to vote on which will become 2016’s winning quote.

Competition organiser and co-judge Dr Heather Kavan says 2016’s finalists have been dominated by news events but, unlike previous years, the focus has not been on sport or politics.

“I think one of the main themes is shock. There are several possible quotes from John Key’s unexpected resignation, but the ‘I gave it everything I had’ one conveys the heart of his message,” Massey’s speech writing expert says.

“Another shock was the Kaikoura earthquake. There are two quotes about this: one about the plight of the stranded cows, and the other was Green MP Denise Roche’s response to Brian Tamaki’s controversial statements about homosexuality causing earthquakes. Tamaki’s quote itself was never nominated.”

Dr Kavan says there were plenty of shocking overseas events as well, which indirectly affected the Quote of the Year shortlist.

“The third shock was, of course, the United States election result, and several of the entries were disqualified because they were quotes from Donald Trump, rather than New Zealanders.

“While the United States election was going on, there were few, if any, knock-out one-liners from New Zealand politicians. There were, however, several comedic quotes. The judging panel chose Matt Stellingwerf’s comment that Americans might choose to have a gun on their flag.”

A quote from the North Dakota pipeline protests at Standing Rock had the biggest emotional impact, with two of the three judges admitting to tearing up when they watched the footage of Kereama Te Ua.

“Here's a man 13,000 kilometres from home, who gets a sudden impulse to drop to his knee and do the haka in solidarity with the Sioux people who are resisting the North Dakota pipeline,” Dr Kavan says.

“Other quotes are clever, but they're often armchair quotes or safe quotes that most people are likely to agree with. In contrast, Mr Te Ua is in freezing temperatures risking rubber bullets, arrest, and pepper spray.”

Another recurring theme in 2016 was conflict and assertion. Dylan Kelly, son of the late union leader Helen Kelly, recalling his mother’s negotiation skills made the list, as did Bella Henry fighting The Bachelor’s Naz Khanjani in the boxing ring.

“One of the biggest conflicts this year was the Colin Craig trial, which yielded interesting quotes, and it was a challenge to choose between them,” Dr Kavan says. “Rachel MacGregor’s words were memorable because it was a long time before we heard her side of the story, and many people might relate to her emotional experience.”

Dr Kavan started the Massey University Quote of the Year six years ago because she found her speech-writing students had trouble identifying memorable New Zealand lines.

She says the judges looked for “quotes that had a spark to them” that they thought people would vote for.

“A powerful quote uses the minimum number of words for maximum meaning, so the words represent a whole story. We also looked for originality, wit, impact, emotional strength, memorability and vividness of the language.”

2016 Quote of the Year finalists

The public can vote for their favourite quote here: http://bit.ly/VoteQOTY16

"All I can say is that I gave it everything I had. I left nothing in the tank." – Prime Minister John Key announcing his sudden resignation.

"I do name a lot of my animals as an insurance policy, because if you name a chicken Meryl Streep, in all fairness you can't eat Meryl Streep." – Sam Neill explaining his animals’ names on The Graham Norton Show.

“In the beginning I really admired Colin. It was only as time went on that I realised he was a douche bag.” – Rachel MacGregor testifying at Colin Craig’s defamation trial.

"You can tell that she’s a negotiator. I’ve never won an argument with her in my life." – Dylan Kelly describing his mother, the late Union leader Helen Kelly.

"Sex just can't be that good." – Green MP Denise Roche when asked about Brian Tamaki’s statements that homosexuality causes earthquakes.

“You want a nose job? Well I'm going to give you one.” – Bella Henry before fighting Naz Khanjani from The Bachelor in the ring.

“A haka would have provoked them, they wouldn't understand what it means, and these guys are looking at any reason to take a shot at us.” – Kereama Te Ua after delivering a stirring haka during protests against the Dakota Access pipeline at Standing Rock.

"I may be short, Mr Brownlee, but at least I could sing." – Ray Columbus’ response to Gerry Brownlee’s criticism of him, to be printed after Columbus’s death, quoted by Vicki Anderson.

"You're a clever cow to skip and dance while the land beneath you is disappearing down the hill." – Farmer Derrick Milton after helping to rescue three cows stranded by the Kaikoura earthquake.

“If Americans were given a choice, they would have a gun on their flag.” – Comedian Matt Stellingwerf at the Billy T. James 2016 Stand up Comedy Awards.

© Scoop Media