the 2018 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championship

1. Round 1That we should require prospective parents to obtain a parenting licence prior to having childrenPractise this motion
2. Round 1That we should allow pro-life organisations to pay women considering abortion to carry their pregnancies to termPractise this motion
3. Round 1Assuming it is possible to copy the consciousness of the deceased onto another person, that we should allow the parents of deceased children to do so onto orphaned infantsPractise this motion
4. Round 2That we should oppose fashion and beauty as tools of gendered self-expression (e.g. wearing of heels and makeup)Practise this motion
5. Round 2That we regret the trend away from valuing art for its technical qualities in favour of abstract characteristics (e.g. conceptual intent, contextual appreciation, uniqueness)Practise this motion
6. Round 2That you should not solve the murder in the remaining episodes.Practise this motion
7. Round 3In countries with a quota for refugees, that governments should allow and facilitate citizens to offer asylum to additional refugees in their homesPractise this motion
8. Round 3That progressive media in the Philippines should not self-censor coverage of extra-judicial killings where they involve victims with serious criminal histories (e.g. known drug lords)Practise this motion
9. Round 3That the West should provide international assistance to the North Korean regime for the exploration, extraction and development of Rare Earth Minerals (REMs)Practise this motion
10. Round 4That we should nationalise all residential housingPractise this motion
11. Round 4That we should require professional sports leagues to require open entry and exit for new and existing franchisesPractise this motion
12. Round 4That we should cap lending to any individual, household or company below a maximum debt-to-income ratioPractise this motion
13. Round 5That we support a men’s rights movementPractise this motion
14. Round 5That we support a pedophile rights movementPractise this motion
15. Round 5That we should abolish national representative sporting teamsPractise this motion
16. Round 6That we support China’s cap on foreign made filmsPractise this motion
17. Round 6That all European Union member states should hold simultaneous referenda on their EU membershipPractise this motion
18. Round 6That the Clintons should cease all engagement in US politics and public lifePractise this motion
19. Round 7That we should ban individuals from self-harm as a form of religious penancePractise this motion
20. Round 7That, in secular states, religiosity should be an aggravating factor in sentencing crimes which go against the teachings of the offender's religionPractise this motion
21. Round 7That anti-theists should donate to, and actively support progressive and/or liberal churchesPractise this motion
22. Round 8That the state should compensate individuals who are found ‘not guilty’ at trialPractise this motion
23. Round 8That mediation should be mandatory before initiating court proceedings in family lawPractise this motion
24. Round 8That all trials should be incorporeal trialsPractise this motion
25. Open OctofinalsThat feminists should support the provision of wife bonuses in pre-nuptial agreementsPractise this motion
26. Open OctofinalsThat we regret the concept of unconditional lovePractise this motion
27. Open OctofinalsThat, in jurisdictions with abortion on demand, we should allow paper abortionPractise this motion
28. ESL SemifinalsThat we support the creation of body corporate/owners corporation/strata community in which owners are able to make prescriptive rules and regulations to live in the community, and can forcibly remove owners who do not complyPractise this motion
29. ESL SemifinalsThat schools should prioritise teachers' knowledge of their subject area over their knowledge of pedagogy and educational theoryPractise this motion
30. ESL SemifinalsThat, as a teacher, we should contradict curriculum that we believe will be harmful to societyPractise this motion
31. Open QuarterfinalsThat the Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) should train their civilian populations in armed insurgencyPractise this motion
32. Open QuarterfinalsThat we support the mobilisation of Shia militia (eg. People's mobilisation forces) in the battle against the Islamic StatePractise this motion
33. Open QuarterfinalsThat a state pursuing policies with the effect of denying other states access to essential resources (food, water, etc.) that could not otherwise be obtained, should be legitimate grounds for military actionPractise this motion
34. Open SemifinalsThat Black Lives Matter should closely integrate the black church and elements of black liberation theology (the narrative that liberating the oppressed is the core of Christian doctrine) into its organisational structure and doctrines.Practise this motion
35. Open SemifinalsThat Muslims should abandon the usage of the label ‘moderate Muslim’ in identifying themselvesPractise this motion
36. Open SemifinalsThat we would deny land rights to, and if necessary, forcefully relocate indigenous communities whose culture and way of life are responsible for environmental degradation (eg. timber plundering, destruction of high conservation value areas, seal clubbing, etc.)Practise this motion
37. ESL Grand FinalThat we should allow organ donors, or their families in case of death, the right to stipulate the recipient of an organ donation.Practise this motion
38. ESL Grand FinalThat, where commercial surrogacy is legal, surrogates should be permitted to unilaterally withdraw from surrogacy contracts at any point, without any liabilityPractise this motion
39. ESL Grand FinalThat we regret the assumption that people who work in community-based or care professions do so out of genuine emotional attachment (e.g that nurses care about their patients, or teachers about their students)Practise this motion
40. Open Grand FinalThat we support the creation of autonomously governed ocean-based communities (ie. seasteading)Practise this motion
41. Open Grand FinalThat we should require businesses who profit from cultural traditions (ethnic restaurants/cultural tourism/yoga studios) to obtain a licence from minority community groups, based on conditions of their choosingPractise this motion
42. Open Grand FinalThat European States which remained neutral during World War II should pay compensation to States occupied by Nazi GermanyPractise this motion

Open the Australs 2017 prep page

1. Round 1That where private prisons exist, they should be allowed to train/educate inmates in return for a percentage of that prisoner’s income that they earn after they leave prison.Practise this motion
2. Round 1That we should ban litigation funding.Practise this motion
3. Round 1That the state should fully compensate the victims of crimes committed by recidivist criminals.Practise this motion
4. Round 2That we should allow people to sue media companies over harms that are created due to factual misinformation that they published.Practise this motion
5. Round 2That we should regret dating/hookup websites allowing their users filtering results on the basis of demographic characteristics (race, gender, age etc.)Practise this motion
6. Round 2That Facebook should proactively suppress extremist contentPractise this motion
7. Round 3That we should reject the culture of fearing death.Practise this motion
8. Round 3That we would prefer a world with only one language.Practise this motion
9. Round 3That humans should attempt to suppress their sense of beauty.Practise this motion
10. Round 4That public universities should not implement speech codes or codes of conduct that limit expression beyond the laws of that country.Practise this motion
11. Round 4That we should regret the increasing dominance of academic discourse in civil rights movements (eg gender studies to feminism and queer studies to that queer rights movement)Practise this motion
12. Round 4That universities and companies should only be allowed to recruit students and employees via a blind application process.Practise this motion
13. Round 5That we should ban animal eugenics programmes (eg: selective breeding and pure breeding)Practise this motion
14. Round 5That we should cease all state initiated conservation projectsPractise this motion
15. Round 5That we should oppose giving human rights to individual animals who pass self-recognition tests unless the whole species are granted those rightsPractise this motion
16. Round 6That citizenships should be placed on an international market for sale and purchase.Practise this motion
17. Round 6That the European Union should opt for less integration among its current member states.Practise this motion
18. Round 6That refugees should be able to bypass standard refugee quotas and procedures if they have an individual citizen take responsibility for them.Practise this motion
19. Round 7That we should legalise secondary strikes/solidarity action. (industrial action taken by a workforce in support of another, separate workforce)Practise this motion
20. Round 7That we should allow employees to give up workplace rights in exchange for higher wages.Practise this motion
21. Round 7That we would prefer a world where the norm is that people hold multiple part time jobs instead of the current norm of one full time job.Practise this motion
22. Round 8That where the state has negotiated a sale of public land they must first offer indigenous groups the chance to purchase the land on the same terms.Practise this motion
23. Round 8That the state should exclusively focus on recifying current inequalities to the exclusion of compensating for historical injusticesPractise this motion
24. Round 8That local communities should be able to cap the number of tourists that enter their region over a specific period of timePractise this motion
25. Open OctofinalsThat, where home schooling exists, we should ban religious individuals from homeschooling their children.Practise this motion
26. Open OctofinalsThat we, as the Catholic Church, would abolish sainthoods and canonisation.Practise this motion
27. Open OctofinalsThat individuals should always have the right to temporarily enter a state for the purposes of pilgrimage.Practise this motion
28. ESL SemifinalsThat the narrative that charitable initiatives can be profitable (eg microfinancing, impact investment) has done more harm than good.Practise this motion
29. ESL SemifinalsThat charities should not accept donations made by public figures as part of a public apology (eg public figures who are criticised for being misogynists and then donate to domestic violence charities).Practise this motion
30. ESL SemifinalsThat the state should not provide legal recognition and support to charities whose main goal is to raise awareness.Practise this motion
31. Open QuarterfinalsThat we regret the efforts of the United States to make housing more affordable.Practise this motion
32. Open QuarterfinalsThat we, as China, should compensate venture capital/private equity firms for investment losses in China.Practise this motion
33. Open QuarterfinalsThat the pro-Palestine movement should not liken Israel to apartheid.Practise this motion
34. Open SemifinalsThat we should abolish corporate/company tax.Practise this motion
35. Open SemifinalsThat we should establish an international body responsible for taxing and redistributing income earned by multi-national corporations such as Facebook and Google.Practise this motion
36. Open SemifinalsThat we should allow income splitting. (Income splitting allows a person to allocate part of their income to their partner for tax purposes. Eg Kirkby earns $0, Nick earns $100,000. Each is taxed at $50,000 each. It is not taxing them at $100,000 as if they are one person.)Practise this motion
37. ESL Grand FinalThat we should oppose the Teach for All programme.Practise this motion
38. ESL Grand FinalThat as a middle class African-American parent, given the choice between an under-performing but predominantly African American school and a high performing but predominantly white school, we should choose to send our children to the predominantly African-American school.Practise this motion
39. ESL Grand FinalThat we should give control of education curriculum administration and policy (eg teacher pay and curricula) to teachers’ unions.Practise this motion
40. Open Grand FinalThat the modern breast feeding movement has done more harm than goodPractise this motion
41. Open Grand FinalThat feminists should oppose drag culturePractise this motion
42. Open Grand FinalThat feminists should refrain from using the act of sex to further their personal or political goalsPractise this motion

Open the Australs 2016 prep page

1. Round 1That we should prohibit police departments from having specialised public relations staffPractise this motion
2. Round 1That jurors should be allowed to directly cross examine witnessesPractise this motion
3. Round 1That we should remove statutes of limitation for all crimesPractise this motion
4. Round 2That those who live in states that suffer rampant corruption should evade taxPractise this motion
5. Round 2That we welcome China's establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as an alternative to the International Monetary FundPractise this motion
6. Round 2That we should allow citizens to donate to recognised charities of their own choosing instead of paying income taxPractise this motion
7. Round 3That we should refrain from characterising villains of history as monstersPractise this motion
8. Round 3That curricula in post-colonial states should focus on locally-authored literature, to the absolute exclusion of 'great work' such as ShakespearePractise this motion
9. Round 3That the media should have suppressed any reference to Dylan Roof's mental illness, and instead focus exclusively on racism as an explanation for Charleston massacre.Practise this motion
10. Round 4That we should make Boards of Trustees at colleges and universities personally liable for sexual crimes committed by their students against other studentsPractise this motion
11. Round 4That any potential romantic partners or professional sports players should deny them all physical and emotional contact until clubs and sports authorities agree to structural reforms to combat sexismPractise this motion
12. Round 4That we should permanently remove men who abuse their partners from secluded communities where domestic violence is entrenched.Practise this motion
13. Round 5That Germany should prosecute United States government officials for torture in German courts, regardless of their participation in the trialPractise this motion
14. Round 5That member states of the International Criminal Court should be required to violate sovereignty to make arrests on behalf of the ICCPractise this motion
15. Round 5That we regret the Arabisation of Islam in South East AsiaPractise this motion
16. Round 6That as a progressive person, we regret the changes made to the Catholic Church and its direction ushered in by Pope FrancisPractise this motion
17. Round 6That religious organisations should be exempt from employment discrimination law when hiring for 'non-religious' roles (e.g. secretaries, doctors, contractors)Practise this motion
18. Round 6That we regret the involvement of the church, its leaders and the language of religion (i.e. redemption, absolution) in truth and conciliation processes.Practise this motion
19. Round 7presuming it were possible, That we would opt for a digital existence over a physical onePractise this motion
20. Round 7presuming feasibility, That we should allow individuals to selectively erase others' memories of themPractise this motion
21. Round 7in a world where it exists, That love with artificial intelligence is as valid as love with a humanPractise this motion
22. Round 8That we regret Iraq's policy of offering its citizens large sums of money to personally kill terrorist militantsPractise this motion
23. Round 8That Western states should block ransom payments made by families for the release of ISIS captivesPractise this motion
24. Round 8in the face of an overwhelming failure of conventional responses by nation-states, That churches should encourage and materially support able members of their congregation to go and fight against ISISPractise this motion
25. Open OctofinalsThat criminal justice policy should be outsourced to technocrats in place of elected representativesPractise this motion
26. Open OctofinalsThat political parties should be compelled to retain membership racially proportional to the populationPractise this motion
27. Open OctofinalsThat within progressive social justice movements, allies from majorities ought to remain silentPractise this motion
28. EFL SemifinalsThat governments who fail to disaster-proof should be held liable for the deaths of their citizens in the event of a natural disasterPractise this motion
29. EFL SemifinalsThat Greece should sell sovereign control over portions of its territory to private companies in order to finance its debt repaymentPractise this motion
30. EFL SemifinalsThat we celebrate the proliferation of regionally specific human rights instruments such as the Arab Charter on Human Rights, despite deviations from the Universal Declaration of Human RightsPractise this motion
31. Open QuarterfinalsThat states should not enter into international agreements that contain investor-state dispute settlement provisionsPractise this motion
32. Open QuarterfinalsThat we should require companies that develop innovations disrupting established industries to pay compensation to the labour forces they make redundantPractise this motion
33. Open QuarterfinalsThat we should privatise the oceanPractise this motion
34. Open SemifinalsThat faced with a choice between purchasing desirable but non-essential products (e.g. Starbucks) over spending on alleviating suffering (e.g. donating to charity), that we ought to always do the latterPractise this motion
35. Open SemifinalsThat we should not prosecute those who, for reasons of mercy, kill family members who are physically or mentally incapable of consenting to deathPractise this motion
36. Open SemifinalsThat the government should pre-emptively and aggressively intervene in individuals' lives based on data-driven predictions in areas such as health, education and crimePractise this motion
37. EFL Grand FinalThat companies should be compelled to finance their female employees to freeze their eggs and subsequently undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF)Practise this motion
38. EFL Grand FinalWhere conflicts have disproportionately harmed women, That post-conflict states should exclusively appoint women to positions of leadership in the militaryPractise this motion
39. EFL Grand FinalThat we should prosecute fathers who choose to walk out on their children for criminal negligence, irrespective of whether they pay child supportPractise this motion
40. ESL Grand FinalThat journalists and media organisations who cover conflicts should be required to render reasonable assistance to the victims, even where it directly jeopardises their coveragePractise this motion
41. ESL Grand FinalThat living people owe a moral obligation to preserve an equivalent to present standard of living for future generationsPractise this motion
42. ESL Grand FinalThat we should demonise neutral states that refrain from taking action in conflicts with a definitely identifiable oppressorPractise this motion
43. Open Grand FinalThat we regret the commercialisation of PridePractise this motion
44. Open Grand FinalThat African Americans should embrace claims made by white individuals, such as Rachel Dolezal, to identify as part of their communityPractise this motion
45. Open Grand FinalThat we cannot achieve social justicePractise this motion

Open the Australs 2015 prep page