The fifth annual Great Auckland Central Hero Debate is only days away, so regular celebrity debater Steven Gray says he's been thinking a little about the moot - and a lot about insults to hurl at the other team. Great Debater Steven Gray "I love it," chuckles Gray. "It's one of the funniest nights of the year. You get to hear stuff you'll never hear any other time - from people who are absolutely naughty!" TVOne's Good Morning host Gray, media commentator Russell Brown and outgoing NZ AIDS Foundation Chair Jeremy Hoani Lambert will join Labour MPs Lainne Dalziel, Maryan Street, Charles Chauvel, Chris Carter and first-time Hero Debater Moana Mackey will debate the moot that 'love will draw an elephant through a key-hole' on Monday evening. The speakers will be judged by a larger-then-ever team of celebrities - Dame Cath Tizard, Steven Oates, Buckwheat and Ponsonby Christmas Lightshow creator Ross Thorby. The audience will be entertained in between and around the edges by Helen Medlyn and Penny Dodd as well as Red Witch, a band whose members include Auckland Regional Councillor Brent Morrissey. Proceeds from the debate support the Cartier Bereavement Charitable Trust and the Labour Party. The debaters are a riot, and even the judges are hilarious, says Gray. "Dame Cath Tizard is always very funny. You just sit there and go 'I can't believe she said that'. The judges always have a great laugh as well. So has Gray thought much about the moot in preparation for the debate? "It doesn't matter, because the moot is just a starting point, and the best debaters ignore the moot, basically. And really just rip into each other." The Fifth Annual Great Auckland Central Hero Debate happens from 6pm Monday 18 February 2008 at the Opera Factory, Newmarket, Auckland. Booking details are on the top link below.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 13th February 2008 - 4:02pm