Video | Beginner Resource

Topic
That we should change the Australian flag

Breakdown
Actor – We (the government/education department)
Mechanism - change
Subject – the flag

Reasonable basis statement
Both teams can agree they want a symbol that puts Australia in the best position for the future, considering past and present viewpoints in the country

What to prove - Affirmative
— Why the flag should be changed to best represent Australia
— Why the process of a change of flag would be the best instrument, for finding a way of representing Australia
— How a more up-to-date flag would create more social harmony than the current options

What to prove – Negative
— Why there’s no need for change to allow us to be represented symbolically
— Why the instrument of changing a flag is not the best way of achieving ongoing benefits to society
— How this change will lead to negative social outcomes in the long term

Common mistakes
— This debate often ends up in quite polarised arguments that tend to cancel each other out because they but can’t be properly compared
— Too much focus on the cost of changing the flag

Conclusion
— There are interesting examples that give some context to the flag debate. Worth looking up what has happened in New Zealand, where there was a process to change their flag between 2015 and 2016.
— A great debate of junior debaters

Changing the Australian Flag