The COVID conundrum
“Should sports teams and athletes compete overseas during the Covid-19 pandemic?”
Rotary North Harbour’s Great Debate between Carmel College and Westlake Girls High School thrashed this out with counter arguments and rebuttals interspersed with humour.
The teams, in order of speaking, included Members of Parliament:
Affirmative (Carmel College) - Madison Lockyer, Annabel Rhodes, MP David Seymour (Epsom), Ella Copley
Negative (Westlake Girls High School) - Aneta Du, Grace Chen, Lily Qi, MP Chlöe Swarbrick (Auckland Central)
A coin toss to delegate affirmative or negative roles half an hour before the start left limited time to prepare arguments. However both teams are very experienced debaters, the MPs perhaps less so with the strict rules of debate 😆, but they certainly brought a different approach.
The venue was packed and the adjudicators from the Auckland Debating Society congratulated both teams on their level of debating skills before awarding the moot to the negative.
An entertaining event that provided the students with a wonderful opportunity for personal development and interaction with sitting MPs whilst raising funds for Rotary projects.
Thanks to Partners Life Insurance for their sponsorship
Look out for next year’s debate.
Poll: Do you think banning gang patches is reasonable?
With the government cracking down on gangs, it is now illegal for gang members to display their insignia in public places whether through clothing or their property.
This means arrests can be made if these patches are worn in places like restaurants, shops, on public transport or ferries, and on airplanes. Arrests were made recently at a funeral.
Do you think this ban is reasonable?
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77% Yes
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21.6% No
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1.4% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
Spring Cleaning!
Welcoming the New Year with a lovely spring clean!!✨️✨️
Get your free quote quickly!!🤩