Motions

Open Grand Final

  • 1
    That African Americans should embrace claims made by white individuals, such as Rachel Dolezal, to identify as part of their community
  • 2
    That we regret the commercialisation of Pride
  • 3
    That we cannot achieve social justice
  • ESL Grand Final

  • 1
    That journalists and media organisations who cover conflicts should be required to render reasonable assistance to the victims, even where it directly jeopardises their coverage
  • 2
    That living people owe a moral obligation to preserve an equivalent to present standard of living for future generations
  • 3
    That we should demonise neutral states that refrain from taking action in conflicts with a definitely identifiable oppressor
  • EFL Grand Final

  • 1
    That companies should be compelled to finance their female employees to freeze their eggs and subsequently undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF)
  • 2
    Where conflicts have disproportionately harmed women, That post-conflict states should exclusively appoint women to positions of leadership in the military
  • 3
    That we should prosecute fathers who choose to walk out on their children for criminal negligence, irrespective of whether they pay child support
  • Open Semifinals

  • 1
    That 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 latter
  • 2
    That we should not prosecute those who, for reasons of mercy, kill family members who are physically or mentally incapable of consenting to death
  • 3
    That the government should pre-emptively and aggressively intervene in individuals' lives based on data-driven predictions in areas such as health, education and crime
  • Open Quarterfinals

  • 1
    That states should not enter into international agreements that contain investor-state dispute settlement provisions
  • 2
    That we should require companies that develop innovations disrupting established industries to pay compensation to the labour forces they make redundant
  • 3
    That we should privatise the ocean
  • EFL Semifinals

  • 1
    That governments who fail to disaster-proof should be held liable for the deaths of their citizens in the event of a natural disaster
  • 2
    That Greece should sell sovereign control over portions of its territory to private companies in order to finance its debt repayment
  • 3
    That 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 Rights
  • Open Octofinals

  • 1
    That criminal justice policy should be outsourced to technocrats in place of elected representatives
  • 2
    That political parties should be compelled to retain membership racially proportional to the population
  • 3
    That within progressive social justice movements, allies from majorities ought to remain silent
  • Round 8

  • 1
    That we regret Iraq's policy of offering its citizens large sums of money to personally kill terrorist militants
  • 2
    That Western states should block ransom payments made by families for the release of ISIS captives
  • 3
    in 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 ISIS
  • Round 7

  • 1
    presuming it were possible, That we would opt for a digital existence over a physical one
  • 2
    presuming feasibility, That we should allow individuals to selectively erase others' memories of them
  • 3
    in a world where it exists, That love with artificial intelligence is as valid as love with a human
  • Round 6

  • 1
    That as a progressive person, we regret the changes made to the Catholic Church and its direction ushered in by Pope Francis
  • 2
    That religious organisations should be exempt from employment discrimination law when hiring for 'non-religious' roles (e.g. secretaries, doctors, contractors)
  • 3
    That we regret the involvement of the church, its leaders and the language of religion (i.e. redemption, absolution) in truth and conciliation processes.
  • Round 5

  • 1
    That Germany should prosecute United States government officials for torture in German courts, regardless of their participation in the trial
  • 2
    That member states of the International Criminal Court should be required to violate sovereignty to make arrests on behalf of the ICC
  • 3
    That we regret the Arabisation of Islam in South East Asia
  • Round 4

  • 1
    That we should make Boards of Trustees at colleges and universities personally liable for sexual crimes committed by their students against other students
  • 2
    That 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 sexism
  • 3
    That we should permanently remove men who abuse their partners from secluded communities where domestic violence is entrenched.
  • Round 3

  • 1
    That we should refrain from characterising villains of history as monsters
  • 2
    That curricula in post-colonial states should focus on locally-authored literature, to the absolute exclusion of 'great work' such as Shakespeare
  • 3
    That 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.
  • Round 2

  • 1
    That those who live in states that suffer rampant corruption should evade tax
  • 2
    That we welcome China's establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as an alternative to the International Monetary Fund
  • 3
    That we should allow citizens to donate to recognised charities of their own choosing instead of paying income tax
  • Round 1

  • 1
    That we should prohibit police departments from having specialised public relations staff
  • 2
    That jurors should be allowed to directly cross examine witnesses
  • 3
    That we should remove statutes of limitation for all crimes