Wellington Speaking Union AGM 2012

Posted on by

The Wellington Speaking Union AGM for 2012 was held tonight at The VUW Law School. The various reports will be uploaded here soon.

The following people were elected to positions for the 2013 year:

President – Daniel Wilson
Treasurer – Christopher Bishop
Secretary – Ella Edginton

The Union is very pleased to announce Kathy Ryan as the Union’s latest Life Member. Kathy’s contribution to Wellington debating over a period approaching two decades is has been considerable, and the strength of the Region’s debating on the national stage is undoubtedly due in large part to Kathy’s masterful administration of one of the most influential grades run by the Union. The Union would like to reiterate its appreciate for the ongoing work Kathy does for the debaters in Wellington, and their gratitude for her offering of continued service.

The Union thanks Sebastian Templeton for his work as President this year, and his many years of service across many grades of Wellington schools debating. The Union also thanks Nicholas Cross for his work as Treasurer this year.

Premier A Champions

Posted on by

Congratulations to Wellington College, the 2012 Champions of Premier A.

The debate was considered by the adjudicators and the audience alike as an excellent debate.

Congratulations, too, to Edward Foley from Wellington College. Edward won the Suffrage Cup, which is awarded to the  best speaker in the Grand Final. This is the second year in a row Edward has won the Suffrage Cup, and it is only the second time in the Cup’s history that the same person has won the award twice.

Congratulations to Queen Margaret’s College for reaching the Grand Final.

Stockley Cup

Posted on by

The Stockley Cup Public Speaking competition was held on Monday 10 September at Wellington Girls’ College, with six speakers competing in the junior section for the Dunsheath Plate, and eight speakers in the senior section for the Stockley Cup.

The range of speech topics varied from racism, feminism, the Mary Celeste, and expectations on students. The judges (Daniel Wilson, Richard D’Ath, and Duncan McLachlan) were very impressed by the quality of all the competitors’ speeches.

Junior winner

Shweta Iyer – QMC

The Mystery of the Mary Celeste

Senior winner

Jessie Fenton – Wellington Girls’ College

Are we still feminists?

Premier A Grand Final

Posted on by

The Grand Final for 2012 will be held on Tuesday 18 September at 7.00pm, in the Wellington City Council Chambers in the Wellington Town Hall.

Congratulations to QMC and Wellington College for making it this far in the competition – all are welcome to come and support them.

Motion: This house supports binding Citizens Initiated Referendums.

Affirmative Negative

Wellington College                                 QMC

Senior Premier B Final

Posted on by

The Grand Final for 2012 will be held on Tuesday 11 September at 6.30pm, in the Council Chambers in the Wellington Town Hall.

Congratulations to Sacred Heart College and Wellington College for making it this far in the competition – all are welcome to come and support them.

Motion: That housewives and househusbands should be paid for their work.

Affirmative Negative

Sacred Heart  College                    Wellington College

Premier A Semi Final

Posted on by

The results for the Quarter Final are as follows:

Winners are marked in bold

1 Wellington East v St Mary’s
2 Wellington College v HVHS
3 Scots v Wellington High
4 QMC v Chilton

Congratulations to St Mary’s, Wellington College, Scots College, and QMC for making the semi finals, and commiseration to the other quarter-finalists.

Draw for Semi Final:

Affirmative are noted on the left

1 QMC v St Mary’s
2 Scots v Wellington College

Motion: This house supports a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities

Date: Tuesday 4 September

Venue: St Mary’s College

Time: 6.30pm

Premier A Quarter Final

Posted on by

Congratulations to the following teams for making the Quarter Finals of Premier A 2012.

1. St Mary’s
2. Wellington College
3. Wellington High
4. Chilton
5. QMC
6. Scots College
7. HVHS
8. Wellington East Girls College

Commiserations to St Catherine’s, who missed the break by one win point, and to all other teams who missed the break.


The draw for the Quarter Final is:

1 Wellington East v St Mary’s
2 Wellington College v HVHS
3 Scots v Wellington High
4 QMC v Chilton


The Quarter Finals will being at 6.30pm sharp at Wellington East Girls College.


The motion for the Quarter Final is: That Barack Obama has betrayed the legacy of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Premier A Round 5

Posted on by
Hello all
The motions for round 5 were:

  • That the Government should impose import taxes on imported goods which are produced unethically
  • That  the Government should prohibit loan sharks from making loans to borrowers at very high interest rates
  • That the welfare-recipient families whose children perform well at school should receive welfare bonuses

The results are below. The winners are noted in bold.


Premier A Round 4

Posted on by

Hello all

The motions for Round 4 were:

  • This house believes that all governments should end all funding for space exploration
  • This house would require all alternative medicine to carry the label “not medically proven to work”
  • This house supports the removal of all restrictions on genetically modified foods.

The results are below, with the winners marked in bold: