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.
Scam Alert: Fake information regarding December Bonuses from MSD
The Ministry of Social Development is reporting that fake information is circulating about new ‘December bonuses’ or ‘benefit increases’
If you get suspicious communication, please contact Netsafe.
Poll: Are Kiwis allergic to “exuberance”? 🥝
In The Post’s opinion piece on the developments set to open across Aotearoa in 2026, John Coop suggests that, as a nation, we’re “allergic to exuberance.”
We want to know: Are we really allergic to showing our excitement?
Is it time to lean into a more optimistic view of the place we call home? As big projects take shape and new opportunities emerge, perhaps it’s worth asking whether a little more confidence (and enthusiasm!) could do us some good.
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41.5% Yes
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33.6% Maybe?
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24.9% No
Some Choice News!
Many New Zealand gardens aren’t seeing as many monarch butterflies fluttering around their swan plants and flower beds these days — the hungry Asian paper wasp has been taking its toll.
Thanks to people like Alan Baldick, who’s made it his mission to protect the monarch, his neighbours still get to enjoy these beautiful butterflies in their own backyards.
Thinking about planting something to invite more butterflies, bees, and birds into your garden?
Thanks for your mahi, Alan! We hope this brings a smile!
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