A previous version of this article misrepresented SRC Indigenous Officer Brydie Zorz. This article has been corrected and steps have been taken to ensure the accurate representation of the figures in this piece.
The Student Representative Council (SRC) election concluded recently, with voting closing on Friday, October 25th, at 10pm. Looking back at the UNSW SRC for 2024, Gamamari was able to sit in on the council’s latest, and final, meeting, which was originally scheduled on September 9th but was cancelled due to a failure to meet quorum.
The meeting was held online on September 23rd at 6:30pm. SRC President Michael Rahme opened the meeting at 6:40pm and confirmed that quorum was met. He began with the acknowledgment of Country and reminded everyone of the SRC Safer Spaces Policy, which arguably was not regarded during the meeting as debates heated up.
The first item of the meeting proposed the SRC’s opposition to the federal government’s updates to the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS). Queer Officer Pepsi proposed the motion, bringing up the hostility of the government to international students. They proposed working with the National Union of Students and National Tertiary Education Union to provide a stronger voice for international students.
Left Action’s Jamie Tyers spoke in favour of the motion. Education Officer Cherish Kuehlmann from Left Action also spoke for the motion, opposing the proposed legislative change. Left Action’s Environmental Officer Gina Elias also spoke for the motion, bringing up an article by Noise@UNSW (which has been edited post-meeting) written by Pepsi.
Gina alleged that the article was an attack on Palestine activism, by saying that the protests were wasting funds even though Palestinians are also international students. Voting was completed on Slido (which is most likely a breach of the SRC charter since the voting was anonymous, meaning that non-SRC members could have voted). The motion passed with all 15 votes in favour.
The second item was proposed for the support of refugees under government policies that are causing thousands of refugees to be in limbo. They elaborated that the prosecution of refugees included jail time and up to $93,000 in fines. Left Action’s Councillor B Lachlan Magrath who aligns with Left Action and Queer Officer Rebecca Bundell spoke in favour of the motion. The voting system was changed to a show of hands due to issues with the previous voting method. The motion passed with 13 votes in favour and 1 abstention.
The third item was proposed by Cherish, regarding UNSW’s financial divestments for companies affiliated with Israeli military. Cherish proposed for the SRC to endorse the Student General Meeting organised by the Education Collective on September 26th. Pepsi expressed concerns about the inclusivity of an in-person vote. Revive’s Councillor A Louis Pan’s proxy spoke against the motion, stating that the focus should be on Hamas rather than Palestine. Gina responded lengthily to Louis’s proxy which caused the President to attempt to recentre the topic towards the original motion. Cherish also responded to Louis’s proxy, asserting that the protest is against genocide and for peace. Lachlan also spoke in favour of the motion. A show of hands resulted in the motion passing, with 14 votes in favour, 1 abstention and 1 against.
The fourth item proposed for the SRC was to show solidarity with activists in Pakistan. Cherish Kuehlmann was in contact with Pakistani activists who asked for support regarding civil rights and freedom of speech due to the Pakistani government persecuting students campaigning against sexual assault. Ethno-Cultural Officer Diya Sengupta and Louis’s proxy spoke in favour of the motion. Michael made an amendment to the motion to ask UNSW to make a statement. The motion passed with 13 votes in favour, 1 abstention and no opposition.
The fifth item proposed the fulfilment of a Councillor A vacancy by Jamie Tyers. Jamie detailed his involvement in many campaigns for student rights including housing at UNSW and Palestine. Louis’s proxy spoke against the motion, stating that the SRC should be acting for students’ interests, and that the disconnection of UNSW from companies could negatively affect the economy and jobs. Gina rebutted, claiming that Louis’s proxy wrongly attacked Jamie’s language. The motion passed with 9 votes in favour, 7 abstentions and 1 opposition, with Michael casting an additional vote as a tiebreaker as per the SRC charter.
The sixth item proposed the fulfilment of a Councillor B vacancy by Left Action’s Eva Beaumont, who was not present at the meeting. Eva campaigned against genocide in Palestine, and was passionate about student rights, women’s rights and LGBT rights. Louis’s proxy spoke against the motion, emphasising the inability of the SRC to influence international decisions, and that the SRC’s resources could instead be used to fund affordable food on campus, disability support or mental health.
Members of Left Action responded by disregarding the relevance of Louis’s proxy’s argument and asserting that fighting against systemic issues is still in students’ interests. Brydie wrote in the meeting chat, “what does banh mi places gotta do with whether she gets in or not”. The motion passed with 8 votes in favour, 5 abstentions and 1 against.
The seventh item proposed the amendment of the SRC Charter for Office Bearers to be accountable for absences. Diya stated how certain Officer Bearers are never available, using proxies or apologies for meeting absences and not responding to emails. Pepsi spoke in favour of the motion, declaring that Office Bearers are paid for their role and need to be accountable to the student body. Jamie spoke against the motion, claiming that the motion was “bureaucratic” censorship and that the issue was political perspective rather than the Charter.
Josh Chen, an attending member of the meeting commented in the meeting chat, “How is it bureaucratic censoring if the person doesn’t show up to say anything in the first place?”. Jamie also pointed out that Diya’s lack of support for protests despite her position as Ethno-Cultural Officer. Louis’s proxy and Pepsi spoke in favour of the motion. Cherish spoke against both previous speakers, with Gina in the meeting chat accusing Diya of hypocrisy for not involving herself in activist campaigns. It was revealed in the meeting chat that there had been 8 months of complaints regarding the absence of Alexander (presumably Alexander Pye, the International Students’ Officer).
The motion passed with 8 votes for and 7 abstentions, with Michael casting the tiebreaker vote.
The eighth item was introduced by Diya, who was in contact with a UK company with a pilot software program that the SRC could use for student unions. She spoke on how the SRC is intimidating for the general student population, and that the data from the software could help make changes. Revive’s Welfare Officer Annikka Burge spoke in favour of the motion.
Jamie spoke against the motion, disregarding the usefulness of the program. The pressure built up during the meeting finally broke as Pepsi intensely responded to Jamie, saying that Left Action’s activism did “fuck all”, claiming that they spend thousands of dollars all to achieve nothing. The debate continued as Gina responded. The motion passed with 8 votes in favour, 3 abstentions and 4 against.
The ninth item proposed by Brydie was for the SRC to support for the Truth and Justice Commission Bill. The bill was introduced by the Greens to parliament to create a body that would advise parliament regarding ongoing injustice towards Indigenous people. The Commission would include representatives from each state and territory. Cherish and Gina spoke in favour of the motion. The motion passed with 15 votes in favour, 2 abstentions and no opposition.
The tenth and final item was proposed in regard to the micro-treaty process at UNSW.
The meeting moved onto Office Bearer reports. During the transition, Louis’s proxy stood to leave the physical meeting room, announcing his gratitude for being able to participate. Gina promptly dismissed his comment, saying he was wasting their time.
For the Office Bearer reports, President Michael Rahme spoke on his work with Paddington and the Ethno-Cultural Officers to make an anti-scamming guide. Environment Officer Gina spoke on her work for Palestine activism and cutting ties with Israel-affiliated companies. Education Officer Cherish spoke on her organisation of the Student General Meeting (SGM) and handing out leaflets. Ethno-Cultural Officer Diya spoke on working on the anti-scamming guide with Michael as well as the Gender Violence Policy meeting, Arc Clubs Tribunals and advocating for Wellbeing Officers at Arc Clubs. Indigenous Officer Brydie spoke regarding their work on the micro-treaty meetings and endorsing the upcoming SGM. The reports of Queer Officers Rebecca Blundell and Pepsi, Welfare Officer Annikka, Revive’s Disabilities Officer Timothy To, Paddington Domestic Officer Edward Zhong and Paddington International Officer Nishita Kishore were taken as read. Councillor B Lachlan spoke on supporting the upcoming SGM and Palestine campaigns.
The meeting closed at approximately 9:30pm.
Want to know more about the parties mentioned and who is ran in the recent SRC election? See the SRC Party Explainer by Madeline here.