Barton Parliamentary Competition

Outline

The Barton Parliamentary Competition is a collaboration between Per Vocem Vita and the Robert Menzies Institute designed to stimulate thinking and debate on lively political topics. We empower students in discussions of both historical and contemporary issues.

During the competition, students will debate three bills in mock-parliamentary proceedings. The first bill will be on a contemporary issue, related to current debates occurring in the media. The second bill will be on a historical issue, drawn from the time of Australia’s longest serving Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies. The last bill will be on a secret contemporary issue, for which no prior research or preparation will be conducted.

2026 Issues

Issue 1 (contemporary) will be: “Artificial Intelligence Safety and Regulation”

Issue 2 (historical) will be: “Banning of the Australian Communist Party”

Issue 3 (contemporary) will remain secret until the 5th of September 2026!

Key Information

Schools are encouraged to register their participation via the form below, under the ‘Registration’ tab. If you are a student who wishes to participate, please share this webpage with a teacher at your school who may be able to facilitate your participation.

This competition directly rewards historical research, investment of time, and strong oratory skills. Students who work on developing these three areas are highly likely to succeed.

Schedules and further details will be provided to schools upon registration to the competition.

Registration

Teachers are invited to register a group of their students via the form below. Groups must contain either 2 or 4 students to be eligible for entry. Students must be in years 9-10. Teachers are not required to attend with their students on the day.

If you have any questions prior to registration, please contact schools@robertmenziesinstitute.org.au

Judging

Competitors will be scored on the following categories.
- Oratory prowess; the vocal style (volume, tonal intonation, pace and fluency) and body language (eye contact, gestures and stance) used in the speeches and questions delivered by the competitor
- Substantive contributions; the quality, accuracy, responsiveness, uniqueness and significance of amendments, speeches and questions delivered by the competitor
- Historical accuracy and relevance; how well researched and faithful to their assigned position the competitor is throughout the debate
- Teamwork; how equitably and strategically the team divides their labour
Judges have the discretionary ability to act on reports of misconduct by deducting points from teams, based on the circumstances of the transgression
Each competitor’s individual performance will be evaluated alongside their teammates’ to award each team a final score at the end of each debate
Teams will be ranked in order of their combined score at the end of the three debates, so that the team with the highest combined score is awarded the trophy

Note: the preceding is excerpted from Standing Order 5 of the Barton Parliamentary Competition Standing Orders, accessible in the Barton Parliamentary Competition Handbook.

Prizes

The winning team will be awarded the Barton Parliamentary Competition trophy at the conclusion of the day’s proceedings.

The individual competitor with the highest score will be awarded a set of four books, published by the Robert Menzies Institute, as well as a student membership of the Institute.

Handbook

Students are advised to familiarise themselves with the Barton Parliamentary Competition Handbook prior to the competition and to inform their research and preparation.

Handbook will be available soon

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