IQ2 debates: Sydney series

Intelligence Squared Australia is a project of St James Ethics Centre, supported by AMP. Learn more at www.iq2oz.com.

29 May: Same sex marriage should not be legalised

Decades of activism have been required to reduce incidents of discrimination against gay and lesbian men and women. But there is a final frontier to be crossed—the extension of the legal right for same sex couples to marry. There are groups who argue the social meaning of marriage is heterosexual, as the basis for a secure traditional family life. There are also strong voices within the gay and lesbian communities who oppose marriage—preferring to maintain a symbolic separation from the distinct, heterosexual community. Why risk dividing the community for the sake of what may amount to nothing more than symbolism? Or are symbols precisely the kind of thing worth fighting for?

26 June:  We've seen the energy future and it's nuclear

The unfolding nuclear disaster at Fukushima has seen Germany abandon nuclear energy. Yet, given grave scientific warnings about the role of carbon emissions in climate change, prominent environmental scientists like James Lovelock have called for the world to employ nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels. Proponents of nuclear energy claim that a new generation of reactors are safe. Opponents say that the residual risks are just too great. So, are fears about nuclear power misinformed, misguided or even relevant when indexed to the unfolding reality of adverse climate change? Given our vast reserves of uranium, our stable political economy and isolation—does Australia have an obligation to embrace nuclear power?

31 July: We've nothing to fear from a powerful China

As the dominance of the West is overtaken by a newly assertive China, will it cause geo political instability? For the majority of recorded history, China has held an equal or dominant position to the West in terms of economic and military power. By most accounts, the yoke of imperial China was relatively light and the Chinese Government is drawing on this version of history in portraying its modern aspirations in a benign light. Yet, China faces resistance. Critics point to a number of worrying signs, including a substantial increase in China’s military expenditure and a staunch refusal to apply international norms for human rights in its territory. Is fear of China’s rise justifiable—or are such fears simply the product of prejudiced Western minds?

21 August: We'd all be better off if farmers had the right to say NO to miners

Australia is endowed with vast reserves of mineral and energy resources. Historically, Australian governments have claimed that our collective prosperity depends on these resources and have exercised ultimate control, then granting rights of exploration and access to land otherwise used for productive purposes. Despite helping to feed the nation and preserve a distinctive way of rural life, farmers have no right to keep the miners off their land. Nor can farmers exercise control over how the extractive industries affect a vital commons—the quality of our water. As the need for food security intensifies, is it time to grant famers new legal entitlements to control access to their land? Or would this simply allow farmers to enrich themselves trading public goods for their private interest?

18 September: There's nothing wrong with designer babies

Medical science promises a future in which it will be possible to prevent children being born with many of the diseases that currently afflict humanity. In many cases a child could be protected by refining its genetic structure at the earliest stage of life. At the same time, it is possible to select other attributes—gender, height, eye colour, etc—thus recasting the odds in the ‘lottery of life’. Are ‘designer babies’ a boon to humankind—the product of human ingenuity applied for the common good? Or should human life remain a source of wonder—where we accept and cherish what we receive rather than shape the gift to order?