Last night I had the opportunity to witness a real debate. The occasion was an IQ2 debate at Melbourne Town Hall. Six experts – three on each side – took turns to argue for and against the proposition that Australia should embrace nuclear power. The highlight of the evening was that, according to before and after polling, a large proportion of the audience made up their mind on the issue on the night. In other words, the debate held real sway.
This is a situation which has become all too rare.
Back when I was at school, the concept of debate was as it is defined. Formally, it was “a systematic contest of speakers in which two opposing points of view of a proposition are advanced”. Informally, it was a reasoned exchange of views. In both cases, the issue being debated held centre stage while the arguments danced around it. Those not part of the debate drew their conclusions based on the strength of the arguments proffered. This is exactly what took place last night.
Somewhere towards the end of the 20th century, however, we entered an era in which debate has became an end in itself with the ‘issues’ demoted to bit parts. Our evening news now focuses almost entirely on disagreement and conflict. In politics and sport in particular, any public difference of opinion, especially between people ‘on the same side’, garners so much attention that the underlying issue barely gets a foot on the platform.
Political debate in Australia has descended into complete farce. Parliamentary debate has no more intellectual rigour than a “she looked out my window!” spat in the back seat of a family car. It is practically irrelevant. Anything approaching real argument takes place as set-piece speeches and photo opportunities where there is little or no chance of counter-arguments being put.
In the public sphere, ‘exchange of ideas’ tends now to take place in the comment streams of blog postings and online columns. These exchanges usually comprise long winded, opinionated rants from people who have no intention of hearing, let alone accepting, anyone else’s point of view. They inevitably dissolve into personal abuse before the webmaster comes to his or her senses and closes off comments.
There is plenty to talk about in the complex world we have built for ourselves. Last night’s debate over nuclear power – itself just one conversation within the wider debate about how we should respond to climate change – demonstrated this all too clearly. There are no absolute right answers in these things: if there were there would be no need for debate. But with a bit more reasonable discussion, including plenty of personal respect shown on both sides, we might at least have a hope of dealing with the big issues.
(Image 
Tambako the Jaguar)
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I've been work- ing in business, one way or another, for the last 20 years, and writing for the last ten. My main interest now is to get messages across - yours and mine - in a readable and approachable fashion. 
