Debatable

Debatable - 15

Posted 4:38am Monday 11th July 2011 by Alec Dawson and Kurt Purdon

This week’s motion is “that insulation of Dunedin flats should be compulsory.” Alec Dawson argues the affirmative while Kurt Purdon argues the negative. Affirmative   Dunedin winters are relentlessly cold, dark and bleak. If you’re lucky enough to be living in a hall of Read more...

Debatable - 14

Posted 4:09am Wednesday 6th July 2011 by John Brinsley-Pirie and Nathan Thomas

Debatable is written by the Otago University Debating Society, which meets for social debating every Tuesday at 7pm in the Commerce Building. This week’s motion is “should New Zealand become a republic?”. John Brinsley-Pirie argues the affirmative while Nathan Thomas argues the negative. Read more...

Debatable - 13

Posted 12:54am Friday 1st July 2011 by Tarsh Turner and John Brinsley-Pirie

This week’s motion is “Southland lignite should stay in the ground”. Tarsh Turner argues the affirmative while John Brinsley-Pirie argues the negative. Affirmative   The development of Southland’s lignite deposits represents a major threat to the global climate, and will not Read more...

Debatable - 12

Posted 6:18am Thursday 26th May 2011 by Todd Dickens and Keegan Burrow

This week’s motion is “Should the US have shot Osama bin Laden?” Todd Dickens argues the affirmative while Keegan Burrow argues the negative. Affirmative Sometimes it is simply not good enough to do your best, you have to actually succeed at doing what is necessary. Obama knows this. He took Read more...

Debatable - 11

Posted 6:45am Thursday 19th May 2011 by Will Cheyne and Clare Burn

Debatable is written by the Otago University Debating Society, which meets for social debating every Tuesday at 7pm in the Commerce Building. This week’s motion is “We should allow disabled parents to select embryos that will produce disabled children”. Will Cheyne argues the affirmative while Clare Read more...

We should ban offensive material in songs

Posted 9:54pm Monday 9th May 2011 by

This week’s motion is “We should ban offensive material in songs”. John Brinsley-Pirie argues the affirmative while Tiho Mijatov argues the negative. Affirmative By offensive, what I mean is violent and denigrating material. I don’t care about some dude swearing or telling Read more...

War can never be justified

Posted 6:23am Thursday 5th May 2011 by Jack Montgomerie and Rebecca Gates

Debatable is written by the Otago University Debating Society, which meets for social debating every Tuesday at 7pm in the Commerce Building. This week’s motion is “war can never be justified”. Jack Montgomerie argues the affirmative while Rebecca Gates argues the negative. Affirmative   Read more...

We should legalise all drugs

Posted 5:40am Thursday 14th April 2011 by Keiran Bunn and Thomas Mitchell

Keiran Bunn argues the affirmative while Thomas Mitchell argues the negative. Affirmative   Illegal drugs can be loosely broken into two categories: those which do minimal harm, for example marijuana, and those that do a lot of harm, like amphetamines or heroine. Both of these groups of Read more...

This House does not believe in an afterlife

Posted 4:38am Monday 4th April 2011 by Nancy El-Gamel and John Brinsley-Pirie

Nancy El-Gamel argues the affirmative while John Brinsley-Pirie argues the negative. Affirmative   I often hear the line “I don’t believe in an afterlife, I believe in science” and my response to these people is threefold. Firstly, there needs to be an Read more...

Does money buy happiness?

Posted 4:23am Monday 28th March 2011 by Bry Jones and Jack Montgomerie

Bry Jones argues the affirmative while Jack Montgomerie argues the negative. Affirmative   Pink Floyd had it right when they said “get a good job with more pay and then you’ll be okay”. It is a happy thought that happiness is distinct from the evils of money, that Read more...