The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):
'VEDAT AVDI: (40's) Stern, proud, austere migrant and doctor of medicine. He carries a heavy burden. He left a good practice in his homeland to follow a dream: to migrate to this new "land of opportunity" and start a new life for his family. The plan backfired. He cannot find work, he is being evicted from his home, pressured into crime, and his wife blames him for everything. The rough edges of his accent are dominated by pedantic university English.
'MURPHY: (50's) A short, solid, unattractive man with a Carlton-United gut and a TV Ringside face. He is the heavy - the villain. Should handle himself well in a scuffle, should smoke, must drive.
'MOYA AVDI: Vedat's wife. Noticeably pregnant, but otherwise lean, hard, and only moderately attractive. She seldom speaks, is withdrawn, suspicious of all Australians. She blames her husband for their troubles, but would not think of raising her voice to him except in private.
'BRIAN BUCKNER: (Late 40's) Trim, fit, tanned, and enjoys playing squash. Buckner is campaigning to dethrone Bell, who has been the local member for Bega Park for 12 years. He is aloof, cocky, often vague - tends to make speeches out of sentences. He thinks he can use everyone (including Ryan) to achieve success in the election. He is more concerned with posing for publicity photos and ordering posters than in helping his voters. Should drive.
'LARRY: (30's) Buckner's campaign manager and squash partner. Sturdy, dependable, even likeable character, with the ominous job of getting Buckner to look and act like a politician.
'PAM: (15) Was raped by Murphy some time ago, and has now discovered she is pregnant. Fragile, bloodless, alone in her misfortune. Limited intelligence.
'ARMSTRONG: (50's) Puppet head of a construction company. He is a bland, limp-wristed man, who deals in graphs and quarterly reports, and wouldn't know a jack-hammer from a pogo stick. Manipulated by everyone, respected by no-one.
'FRANK BELL: (50's) Hard, no-nonsense politician that Buckner is out to defeat. Knows the political scene inside out.
'SPIDER: Foreman at the Dermott Construction Company. Thug.
'STEVE: Worker for Dermott Constructions and thug.
'CILLA AVDI: (10) Vedat's daughter.
'SECRETARY: Works for Buckner. Overworked and underpaid.
'DILMEN: Migrant who works at Mecca Travel Centre. Weak man, tired of hearing complaints from unhappy clients. Heavy European accent.
'RECEPTIONIST: Two scenes, but important part.
'INTERVIEWER: Small important part.
'COMPANION: Bell's beautiful girlfriend. No lines. Very small part.
'EXTRAS: Two photographers and seven migrants.'
