Libs Take Victory in Inaugural Campus Political Debate

By Alexandrea Foster

The inaugural debate between the Murdoch University Chapters of the Young Liberals and Young Labor ended in fiery passion on Tuesday night.

The topic under debate was Australia’s Monarchy with Young Labor’s Kai Donaldson and Kristian Pisano arguing for an Australian Republic while the Young Liberals’ Tom Blake and Bianca Cobby advocated for the Monarchy.

A clear message of patriotism from the Labor side wasn’t enough to sway the audience as the Liberal team dominated in a 36-9 victory.

What started with strong and focused opening statements ended with passions soaring as tensions mounted between the teams.

Labor’s Kai Donaldson strongly argued against the Monarchy, claiming that ‘A monarchy by definition stands in opposition to Australian values.’

Liberal representative Tom Blake attracted a great deal of attention for his interesting choice of words in response.

‘If you listen to this poppycock, I severely worry for your mental health.’

The Labor team claimed the 2.5 million dollars cost to fund a referendum on becoming a republic would outweigh any potential benefits to the taxpayer.

The quick-thinking Labor team spoke well but seemed to struggle against the well-researched points from the monarchists.

After the formalised debate, the teams took questions from the audience. Frequent questions for the Labor republicans seemed to indicate high levels of Liberal support inside the room.

The Liberals seemed set to take the title when Blake ruffled feathers with comments that as a dual citizen he ‘celebrated’ ANZAC day every year.

Though Blake later confirmed that he had intended no disrespect with his wording, Labor’s Kristian Pisano didn’t see it that way and, disgusted with Blake’s use of the word ‘celebrate’ in the context of ANZAC day, things got heated between the two as the question time continued.

After a warning from mediator Professor Ian Cook to keep their responses to the audience, question time was able to continue.

The polls went live on Facebook after closing remarks from both teams,  and resulted in a massive victory for the Young Liberals.