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  • This house believes that Australia should nationalise its struggling heavy industrial plants rather than subsidising private owners to run them

    Infoslide

    A number of heavy industrial plants in Australia (e.g. smelteries, steelmills) are unlikely to be commercially viable into the near future without government support due in part to energy costs and ageing infrastructure.

    ANU Spring 2025 · Round 2 · 2025-11-15

  • As an average individual, This house prefers to be agro-rich than urban-rich

    Infoslide

    For this debate, being agro-rich means having wealth that comes primarily from the ownership of land, farms, and agricultural production or exports; wealth that depends on physical assets, long-term contracts, and the continued management of land, machinery, and workers. It often includes commitments that tie you to the land and its operations. Being urban-rich means having wealth that comes from urban economic activity: high-paying jobs in services, finance, law, real estate, or technology, where income depends on knowledge, professional advancement, and capital flows. It often includes commitments like mortgages, stock options, or promotions.

    South Atlantic Debate Championship 2025 · Quarterfinals · 2025-11-01

  • This house believes that Samka should join the Pahang state government's land legalisation scheme

    Infoslide

    The Malaysian state of Pahang is the country's largest producer of durian. Many local farmers extended the durian plantations beyond legal borders following Malaysia's 1974 Green Book Plan encouraging the cultivation of state-owned land for agricultural purposes. However, the Green Book Plan did not confer guaranteed land ownership rights to the farmers. Today, these durian plantations are seen as "illegal" as they operate without formal approval from the Pahang state government who holds the lease over the disputed plantations via the Royal Pahang Durian (RPD) company. Between March and April 2025, RPD carried out aggressive enforcement operations to regain control over the plantations and establish a "land legalisation scheme" with the local farmers. Farmers who sign up for the scheme would be given the right to use (but not own) the land as "freelance workers", and must only sell the durian harvest back to the RPD at a price 3-4 times lower than market value. The farmers, collectivising as the "Save the Musang King Alliance” (Samka) refuse to cooperate, and have sued the state government over the issuance of eviction notices. Malaysia's durian exports are expected to exceed RM1.5 billion (~USD 355 million) in 2025.

    Malaysia Pre-WUDC 2025 · Round 2 · 2025-10-18

  • THW renationalize Air Canada

    Infoslide

    Until 1989, Air Canada was a crown corporation. It was fully privatized that year, and is a publicly traded company today, with a market cap of around $5.4 billion. If Air Canada were to be renationalized, it would return to its previous status as a crown corporation, and become a government-run corporation.

    Laurier (Waterloo) Fall High School Tournament 2025 · Round 5 · 2025-10-11

  • This house prefers a world where post-Revolutionary Haiti pursued the Louverture model instead of the Peasant Smallholding mode.

    Infoslide

    In post-revolutionary Haiti, the Haitian Government pursued an economic model known as the "Peasant Smallholding" Model. This involved dividing land formerly owned by slaveholding plantations into small family owned plots. The "Louverture" Model would have kept large estates intact and awarded management of them to officials in the Haitian Government.

    UCLA IV 2025 · Round 3 · 2025-09-27

  • This house supports the privatization of outer space in the US

    Infoslide

    Recently, the Trump administration has signed several executive orders intended to significantly increase the role of private firms (eg. SpaceX, BlueOrigin) in outer space, including streamlining launch permit approval processes, diverting NASA funding towards supporting private space infrastructure, and reducing regulations on private space companies.

    UCLA IV 2025 · Quarterfinals · 2025-09-27

  • This house prefers a society where all assets and wealth are subject to public redistribution.

    Infoslide

    Public redistribution means that when an individual dies, all their assets and wealth are transferred to the state which then allocates them into public goods (healthcare, education, infrastructure etc.) or via equal per-capita redistribution to all citizens. No private inheritance of wealth, property, or assets is permitted, though individuals may consume or spend their wealth freely while alive.

    Vanguard Open 2025 · Novice Partial Finals · 2025-09-26

  • This house regrets the rise of private deep tech research and development

    Infoslide

    "Deep tech" refers to cutting-edge technology that aims to solve large-scale global problems through scientific and engineering breakthroughs. These often utilize highly sophisticated innovations and require substantially long research and investments. Examples includes SpaceX for reusable orbital-class rockets, Nanosys Inc. on molecular nanotechnology, PsiQuantum for quantum computing and Terradot for geoengineering.

    Baguio Detour 2025 · Round 4 · 2025-08-30

  • This House believes Zimbabwe was justified in implementing the Fast‑Track Land Reform Programme despite the imposition of ZDERA.

    Infoslide

    In 2000, Zimbabwe launched its Fast‑Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP), under which land owned by white commercial farmers was seized and redistributed to Black Zimbabweans, often without compensation. The policy aimed to address colonial‑era land inequality, in which a small minority held most of the fertile farmland. In response, the United States enacted the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA) of 2001. Under this law, the Government of Zimbabwe was barred from participating in programmes administered by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    Friday Night Debates 2025: An African Debate Super League · Power Pair 3 · 2025-08-22