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IQ² live debates - past events

You can also find out about future debates in both Melbourne and Sydney.

2011 series - Melbourne

Both major parties are failing the Australian people

Photograph of the backs of a male and female looking at red and blue arrows pointing in opposite directions.

14 March 2011 - Melbourne

Many people like to recall a time when politics was a matter of principle and the major parties were animated by a commitment to great political ideals; a time when politicians of all stripes worked for the public good.

People contrast this earlier time with today’s political climate in which the major parties seem willing to do ‘whatever it takes’ to secure power.

The numbers seem to tell the story, with membership of the major parties in terminal decline. However, are we nostalgic for a time that never existed? Are the major parties maligned without good cause?

Public funding of private education is unconscionable

Photograph of an old school building.

24 May 2011 - Melbourne

The parents of students attending private schools pay taxes. So, why should their children be denied a share of the education dollar? Yet, every dollar provided to a private school is a dollar not available to invest in public schools. Where should we invest public funds – and according to what set of principles might we decide without prompting envy and division?

For:

  • Chris Bonner
  • Beatrice Duong
  • Shane Maloney

Against:

  • Dr Kevin Donnelly
  • Andrew Elder
  • Amanda Vanstone

Chair:

Dr Simon Longstaff

There is no justification for risking Australian lives in Afghanistan

Close up of a map of Afghanistan.

28 July 2011 - Melbourne

As each name is added to the growing list of Australians killed serving in Afghanistan, the government assures the nation that the sacrifice in lives has been for a good cause and in the national interest. But what is the national interest that justifies such a terrible cost? Some believe that the price must be paid in the service of national causes. Yet, others find no consolation in claims of national interest; condemning the loss of Australian lives far from home.

For:

  • Eva Cox
  • Raoul Heinrichs
  • Kellie Tranter

Against:

  • Jim Molan
  • Peter Singer
  • Sonia Ziaee

Chair:

Dr Simon Longstaff

A tax won't fix climate change

The carbon tax debate.

15 September 2011 - Melbourne

Few issues of recent times have divided Australia as much as how we should respond to climate change. The Gillard government’s proposed carbon tax is the most controversial policy proposal in at least a decade. Proponents struggle to convince the public of the link between a new, broad-based tax and climate change mitigation, while opponents recite their mantra: “A tax won’t fix climate change”. This debate will tackle the scaremongering, dispel the fictions and, one can only hope, end the confusion.

For:

  • Stuart Allinson
  • Sinclair Davidson
  • Matthew Wright

Against:

  • Dr Adam Bandt
  • Tim Flannery
  • Fiona O’Hehir

Chair:

  • Dr Simon Longstaff

The Catholic church is a force for good in the world

Woman's hands holding a rosary.

15 November 2011 - Melbourne

For more than two millennia, the Catholic Church has been the author and repository of some of the highest ideals of humanity. Yet, as humanity is flawed, so is the Church. Few would deny that the Catholic Church has dark chapters in its history. However, do these darker moments unfairly obscure the light – perhaps because so much is expected of an institution that claims to bridge the sacred and secular? Or is the Catholic Church simply the most ancient of wolves in sheep’s clothing?

For:

  • Senator Helen Coonan
  • Julian McMahon
  • Sister Libby Rogerson IBVM

Against:

  • Father Peter Kennedy
  • Anne Summers AO
  • David Marr

Chair:

  • Dr Simon Longstaff

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