List of Past ISDA Topics

	A	B	C	D
1	List of Past ISDA Topics		Notes from the Chief Adjudicator: - Filter topics by clicking the drop-down boxes - 2016 and 2017 seasons have not yet been added - Topic areas may change and are not indicative of future topic areas of ISDA - Primary = Year 5 and 6; Junior = Year 7 and 8; Intermediate = Year 9 and 10; Senior = Year 11 and 12
2	Topic Area	Age Bracket	Topic	Year
3	Economics	Intermediate	That we should allow emergency workers to strike	2018
4	Economics	Intermediate	That we should allow businesses to fire employees on the basis of personal (legal) online behaviour (e.g. personal Facebook posts)	2018
5	Education	Intermediate	That from Year 10 onwards, the education system should be divided into an academic stream and a vocational stream e.g. hairdressing, plumbing	2020
6	Education	Intermediate	That parents should financially reward their children for improving personal school results	2019
7	Education	Intermediate	That all university students receiving professional degrees (e.g. medicine, law, veterinary studies) should be required to work in a rural area for 2 years after graduation	2018
8	Education	Intermediate	That all Intermediate, 11, and 12 students should be required to have a part time job	2018
9	Education	Intermediate	That access to public schools should be means tested based on parents' income	2018
10	Education	Intermediate	That schools should be allowed to drug test students	2018
11	Education	Intermediate	That we should abolish the ATAR and all other student rankings	2018
12	Education	Intermediate	That we should have performance pay for teachers	2015
13	Education	Intermediate	That we should close down underperforming schools	2015
14	Education	Intermediate	That we should not separate students into classes on the basis of ability	2014
15	Education	Intermediate	That schools should be allowed to test children for illegal drugs	2013
16	Education	Intermediate	That community service should be compulsory for the School Certificate	2011
17	Education	Intermediate	That school should start later to take into account adolescent sleeping patterns	2011
18	Education	Intermediate	That the government should not publish school league tables	2011
19	Education	Intermediate	That NAPLAN results should not be published.	2010
20	Environment	Intermediate	That we should ban people from building new properties in areas with high risk of natural disasters	2020
21	Environment	Intermediate	That decisions, including spending, during natural disasters/emergencies should be entirely controlled by emergency services rather than politicians	2020
22	Environment	Intermediate	That we should fine families who have a high environmental footprint (eg. use non electric cars, use lots of electricty/water, etc)	2019
23	Environment	Intermediate	That we should allow communities to veto resource extraction projects in their local area	2018
24	Environment	Intermediate	That Australia should adopt nuclear power	2018
25	Environment	Intermediate	That we should have an extra tax on mining companies	2015
26	Environment	Intermediate	That we should ban mining projects near the Great Barrier Reef	2014
27	Environment	Intermediate	That the price of water should be increased	2012
28	Environment	Intermediate	That we should allow mining in Antarctica	2012
29	Environment	Intermediate	That Australia should introduce a carbon tax.	2011
30	Environment	Intermediate	That nuclear energy is the future of electricity generation in Australia	2011
31	Environment	Intermediate	That the government should establish a natural disaster fund	2011
32	Environment	Intermediate	That we should make corporations responsible for the disposal of their products	2011
33	Gender	Intermediate	That we should ban movies without major female characters	2019
34	Gender	Intermediate	That we should ban the advertising of makeup and beauty products	2018
35	Gender	Intermediate	That women should pay lower rates of tax than men	2015
36	Gender	Intermediate	That feminists should publicly condemn female public figures who return to abusive partners	2014
37	Gender	Intermediate	That parents should not be allowed to choose the gender or race of an adoptive child	2013
38	Gender	Intermediate	That air brushing in fashion magazines should be banned.	2010
39	Gender	Intermediate	That we should offer tax cuts for companies with female executives.	2010
40	Health	Intermediate	That terminally ill patients should be allowed to trial experimental treatments before they have been approved by medical authorities	2020
41	Health	Intermediate	That employees should be entitled to 5 mental health days per year in addition to existing sick leave and annual leave allowances.	2020
42	Government and Society	Intermediate	That children should be forced to support their parents in their old age.	2013
43	Government and Society	Intermediate	That we should use mandatory offshore detention to deter people smuggling	2012
44	Government and Society	Intermediate	That cigarettes should be made illegal.	2010
45	Government and Society	Intermediate	That we should have a national "Sorry Day".	2010
46	International Relations	Intermediate	That we should legalise the torture of terrorists to obtain national security intelligence	2015
47	International Relations	Intermediate	That the government should actively intervene to save Australians sentenced to death overseas	2015
48	International Relations	Intermediate	That we should ban out-sourcing of clinical testing on humans to the developing world	2018
49	International Relations	Intermediate	That we should tie development aid to the women’s rights record of recipient countries	2018
50	International Relations	Intermediate	That Australia should not assist police in countries that have the death penalty for drug related offences	2014
51	International Relations	Intermediate	That we should only give development aid to democracies	2013
52	International Relations	Intermediate	That we should only give development aid to democracies.	2013
53	International Relations	Intermediate	That Australia should not cut its defence budget to achieve a return to surplus	2012
54	International Relations	Intermediate	That Australian tourists should not travel to countries which abuse the human rights of their citizens	2012
55	International Relations	Intermediate	That Australian tourists should not travel to countries which abuse the human rights of their citizens.	2012
56	International Relations	Intermediate	That developed countries should not accept skilled migrants from developing nations	2012
57	International Relations	Intermediate	That developed countries should not accept skilled migrants from developing nations.	2012
58	International Relations	Intermediate	That poverty should be sufficient grounds for asylum	2012
59	International Relations	Intermediate	That there should be no veto power in the UN Security Council	2012
60	International Relations	Intermediate	That there should be no veto power in the UN Security Council.	2012
61	International Relations	Intermediate	That we should form a political union with other South East Asian nations	2012
62	International Relations	Intermediate	That we should form a political union with other South East Asian nations.	2012
63	International Relations	Intermediate	That aid should be tied to human rights targets	2011
64	International Relations	Intermediate	That all asylum seekers applying to Australia should be processed in Australia.	2011
65	International Relations	Intermediate	That it is sometimes justified to limit civil liberties	2011
66	International Relations	Intermediate	That it is sometimes justified to limit civil liberties.	2011
67	International Relations	Intermediate	That we should give dictators immunity in exchange for their resignation	2011
68	International Relations	Intermediate	That we should not send asylum seekers to other countries for processing	2011
69	International Relations	Intermediate	That we should not send asylum seekers to other countries for processing.	2011
70	International Relations	Intermediate	That Australia should act unilaterally on climate change.	2010
71	International Relations	Intermediate	That Australia should act unilaterally on climate change.	2010
72	International Relations	Intermediate	That Australia should stop following the lead of the US	2010
73	International Relations	Intermediate	That Australia should stop following the lead of the US.	2010
74	International Relations	Intermediate	That the Australian Government should increase its foreign aid.	2010
75	International Relations	Intermediate	That the Australian government should increase its foreign aid.	2010
76	International Relations	Intermediate	That the US should destroy its nuclear arsenal.	2010
77	International Relations	Intermediate	That the US should destroy its nuclear arsenal.	2010
78	International Relations	Intermediate	That we need to do more for asylum seekers.	2009
79	International Relations	Intermediate	That we should leave Iraq.	2009
80	International Relations	Intermediate	That we should no pay ransoms to pirates.	2009
81	International Relations	Intermediate	That Indonesia should not use the death penalty on Australian citizens.	2008
82	International Relations	Intermediate	That the export of live animals should be banned.	2008
83	Law & Order	Intermediate	That all police officers should be forced to work in a prison before becoming a police officer	2019
84	Law & Order	Intermediate	That we should allow prisoners to volunteer for drug trials in exchange for a lighter sentence	2015
85	Law & Order	Intermediate	That the government should be obliged to provide jobs to unemployed ex-prisoners	2015
86	Law & Order	Intermediate	That we should privatise prisons	2015
87	Law & Order	Intermediate	That we should give automatic reductions to prison sentences received by disadvantaged minority groups	2015
88	Law & Order	Intermediate	That we should hold CEOs criminally responsible for environmental damage caused by their companies	2015
89	Law & Order	Intermediate	This we should, with the consent of victims, allow first-time offenders to pay compensation to the victims in place of a prison sentence	2014
90	Law & Order	Intermediate	That crimes committed by police officers should be punished more severely than if they were committed by persons other than police officers	2013
91	Law & Order	Intermediate	That criminals should not receive lighter punishments in exchange for early guilty pleas	2013
92	Law & Order	Intermediate	That we should abolish trial by jury	2013
93	Law & Order	Intermediate	That we should offer amnesties to gang members who testify against other gang members	2013
94	Law & Order	Intermediate	That non-violent offenders should never be sent to prison	2012
95	Law & Order	Intermediate	That Australia should have a bill of rights	2011
96	Law & Order	Intermediate	That criminals should not be permitted to publish accounts of their crimes.	2011
97	Law & Order	Intermediate	That jury trials should be abolished	2011
98	Law & Order	Intermediate	That convicted criminals should pay compensation to their victims	2010
99	Law & Order	Intermediate	That we should ban TV programmes that glorify crime	2010
100	Law & Order	Intermediate	That we should decriminalise recreational drugs.	2010