Hutt Valley NCWNZ Beryl Anderson (left) with Suffrage Cup 2022 winner James Mason, and Ri Comer of Wellington Speaking Union (right). Image courtesy of Wellington Speaking Union.

The Wellington Speaking Union organises the Senior Premier A Grade, the top debating grade within the Intercollegiate debating competition. The winning school receives the John F Henning Cup, donated in 1961 by the then United States Ambassador to New Zealand. The best speaker in the Grand Final is presented with the Suffrage Cup, donated by the Hutt Valley branch of the National Council of Women.

This year’s finalists were Wellington College (affirming) and Kapiti College (negating). The motion was:

“This house regrets the rise of 'hustle culture'.”

“Hustle culture” is a lifestyle where growing one’s career or developing additional business opportunities, or the environment that you work in,
becomes such a priority in one’s life, that other aspects of being human — such as hobbies, family-time and self-care — often take a back seat.

After a vigorous debate, the judges’ decision awarded the Henning Cup to Wellington College and the Suffrage Cup to their first speaker, James Mason.

To read more articles from The Circular (issue 637) click on the tag below.