Officers Cup 2026

1. Round 0THW use representative samples of citizens (citizens' assemblies) rather than referenda to decide significant public issues.Practise this motion
2. Round 0THBT New Zealand universities should prioritise teaching quality over research output when promoting academics.Practise this motion
3. Round 0THBT it is in the interests of the United States that New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is ineligible to serve as President.Practise this motion
4. Round 0This house supports a rise of mutual security agreements (such as the Mecca Joint Defence Pact)Practise this motion
5. Round 0THBT liberal democracies should offer dictators safe exile in exchange for giving up power.Practise this motion
6. Round 0THO the use of algorithmic risk assessments in bail and sentencing decisions.Practise this motion
7. Round 0THBT it was not in the interests of the British Labour Party to replace Keir Starmer with Andy BurnhamPractise this motion
8. Round 0THW allocate academic scholarships by lottery to students who meet a minimum grade thresholdPractise this motion
9. Round 0This house opposes finfluencers (influencers who provide financial advice)Practise this motion
10. Round 0THP a world where Opportunity gets into Parliament in the 2026 New Zealand general election.Practise this motion
11. Round 1This house would aggressively penalise athletes when referees call simulation (e.g. overreacting to fouls, pretending to be more injured then they are)Practise this motion
12. Round 1This house believes that sporting fandom culture does more harm than goodPractise this motion
13. Round 2This house would implement a gender rotation policy for lead public roles (e.g. Prime Minister)Practise this motion
14. Round 2This house believes that it is in the interests of the te reo Māori revitalisation movement to actively encourage the use of English-influenced te reo Māori words and grammatical structuresPractise this motion
15. Round 3This house supports institutional investors' increasing ownership and development of rental accommodation.Practise this motion
16. Round 3This house regrets the prominence of venture capitalismPractise this motion
17. Round 4This house, as a prominent female actress, would only work with female directorsPractise this motion
18. Round 4This house would become the mean judgePractise this motion
19. Round 5This house would re-introduce the universal family benefit in New Zealand (i.e. an allowance given to all families with children regardless of their income).Practise this motion
20. Round 5This house supports a narrative that couples in long-term relationships should maintain substantially separate social lives.Practise this motion
21. Round 6TH, as a parent of a 13 year old child in 2026, would not give your child independent access to the internetPractise this motion
22. Round 6This house regrets the growth in personal health tracking technology (e.g smart watches, sleep tracking apps, etc)Practise this motion
23. Round 7This house would use representative samples of citizens (citizens' assemblies) rather than referenda to decide significant public issues.Practise this motion
24. Round 7This house would significantly reduce judicial discretion in sentencing (eg mandatory minimum sentences, caps on reductions for personal factors)Practise this motion
25. Round 8This house would require companies which sell products in New Zealand to provide affordable spare parts and repair optionsPractise this motion
26. Round 8This house opposes the prominence of management/business consultingPractise this motion
27. SemifinalsTH predicts that in 15 years, that Conservative and Labour parties will no longer be the two dominant political parties in the United Kingdom.Practise this motion
28. SemifinalsTHBT it was in the interests of the National Party to retain Christopher Luxon as leader earlier this month.Practise this motion
29. SemifinalsThis house believes that New Zealand universities should prioritise teaching quality over research output when promoting academics.Practise this motion
30. SemifinalsFor small countries with limited caseloads, this house prefers transnational final appeal courts to domestic final appeal courtsPractise this motion
31. Grand FinalTHBT it is in the interests of the United States that New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is ineligible to serve as President.Practise this motion
32. Grand FinalThis house supports a rise of mutual security agreements (such as the Mecca Joint Defence Pact)Practise this motion

1. Round 0TH would require university courses to be only assessed by methods (e.g. written exams) which are AI-proofPractise this motion
2. Round 0TH believes that the New Zealand Government should act to dramatically reduce the power of the teachers' unionsPractise this motion
3. Round 0TH would criminally prosecute professional service firms (e.g. lawyers, accountants) who are found to have abetted money laundering, irrespective of whether they knew it was taking place (i.e. a strict liability test)Practise this motion
4. Round 0TH believes that the New Zealand Police should prioritise investigation and enforcement against overseas criminal groups (e.g. Comancheros) over local criminal groups (e.g. Mongrel Mob)Practise this motion
5. Round 1TH would require university courses to be assessed only by methods (e.g. written exams) which are AI-proofPractise this motion
6. Round 1TH believes that the New Zealand Government should act to dramatically reduce the power of the teachers' unionsPractise this motion
7. Round 2TH believes that the New Zealand Police should prioritise investigation and enforcement against overseas criminal groups (e.g. Comancheros) over local criminal groups (e.g. Mongrel Mob)Practise this motion
8. Round 2TH would criminally prosecute professional service firms (e.g. lawyers, accountants) who are found to have abetted money laundering, irrespective of whether they knew it was taking place (i.e. a strict liability test)Practise this motion
9. Round 3TH regrets the dominance of the concept of intersectionality in social justice movementsPractise this motion
10. Round 3TH believes that social movements should frame harmful actions by men as the result of external social ills (e.g. loneliness), rather than as expressions of masculinityPractise this motion
11. Round 4TH supports the availability of heartbalm tortsPractise this motion
12. Round 4TH would only allow plaintiffs with a direct and concrete connection to the outcome of a decision to judicially review itPractise this motion
13. Round 5TH believes that social media has done more harm than goodPractise this motion
14. Round 5TH regrets the rise of politicians interacting and interviewing with non-traditional media (e.g. Donald Trump on Joseph Rogan, Bernie Sanders on Theo Von)Practise this motion
15. Round 6TH believes that artists who develop a new artistic style deserve greater praise and recognition, than artists who perfect or master an existing stylePractise this motion
16. Round 6TH prefers a world where people believe that most forms of higher knowledge are fundamentally beyond their reach, even with effort and timePractise this motion
17. Round 7TH believes that Governments should actively discourage religious sects from establishing alternative societies (e.g. not providing teaching licenses, requiring compliance with employment law)Practise this motion
18. Round 7TH, as the European Union, would pursue highly protectionist policy in relation to industrial manufacturing and other heavy industriesPractise this motion
19. Round 8THBT urban design and amenity effects should never be considered in resource consenting processesPractise this motion
20. Round 8TH would allow developers to obtain resource consents for construction projects by committing to separate environmental projects with an equal or greater positive impact, rather than by mitigating or eliminating the negative impacts of the original projectPractise this motion
21. QuarterfinalsTH would substantially reduce the legal barriers to firing employees in NZPractise this motion
22. QuarterfinalsTH believes that professional disciplinary boards (such as those for lawyers, doctors, teachers) should not penalise people for actions committed in their personal lives, except where they have been criminally convictedPractise this motion
23. SemifinalsAmerican Catholic Bishops have recently denounced American immigration policy. TH as the Catholic Church would adopt a more aggressive response to Republican immigration and welfare policies (e.g. actively counter-organising against ICE in their communities, organising protests)Practise this motion
24. SemifinalsTH supports the Democrats enacting retaliatory gerrymandering in blue statesPractise this motion
25. Grand FinalTH supports the use of military force in opposition to rogue nuclear programsPractise this motion
26. Grand FinalTH believes that New Zealand should continue to use hedging as its foreign policy strategy when dealing with the US and ChinaPractise this motion

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