Adelaide Student Politics

Posted: 30th of October 2009

In terms of power in the University of Adelaide pond, University Council is where the big fish lurk. The Council consists of most of the heads of departments and standing committees, as well as the big whigs we receive emails from every now and then. Council approves or makes the biggest decisions facing students at the University of Adelaide.

The Council allows three positions to students, which are decided by online election. Two for undergrads, one for a post-grad. These positions are fiercely contested, and no wonder, with many students figuring it better to be a weak voice on the Council with power than a strong one on less directly influential bodies like, say, the Adelaide University Union. Furthermore, Council elections are usually contested by groups who don’t often bother with the AUU, such as the Medical Students and the Liberals.

This year’s undergraduate election is a four-way contest.

The favourite is Chris Wong, a Med student who is widely expected to be assured an easy ride onto Council due to the significant block vote behind him. I know very little about him, other than that he has three times as many people on his facebook group than the next highest candidate.

Close second is Lavinia Emmett-Grey, the former AUU President no doubt familiar to readers of this blog. If there’s one thing I’ve been assured of in my time watching student politics, it’s the pull of name recognition. Lavinia has more than most, and a dedicated network of people she’s recruited into student politics behind her to boot. Due to both these reasons, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her polling very highly.

Another likely to achieve some level of name recognition is Paris Dean, the long-haired socialist who has in his time as AUU Board Director and SRC President developed quite a reputation. How much of this is due to his Samson-like qualities is uncertain. Paris unexpectedly bowed out of recontesting his position on Union Board earlier this year. Many, myself included, thought that it was his throwing in the towel, but through this nomination, it appears he has his sight set on bigger things.

The final, largely unknown, contestant is Law/International Studies student Tomas Macura. A newcomer to student politics, his left-wing credentials saw him secure a preference-deal with Paris. Both have preferenced each other second, and then Lavinia third. Lavinia has not formally preferenced anyone, apart from Xu Ting (more on him below).

As already stated, Chris’ position on University Council is almost certain. The fight will be for the second position, which will likely fall to either Paris or Lavinia. I expect Lavinia will secure more primary votes, but if (or when) Tomas is knocked out, at least some of his preferences will flow to Paris. It is uncertain whether this will be enough for Paris to overtake Lavinia on preferences. Both will be anxiously awaiting the result.

In the post-grad race, three are contesting.

The first is Xu Ting. Xu made it onto this year’s Union Board, and has the block international vote behind him. However, I question how many international students will vote in an online, as opposed to campus-based, election. Many do not hesitate to cross the line in AUU election week to vote for someone who speaks their language, but I am uncertain if they will turn out in similar numbers when voting is more difficult to direct, as it is in an online forum.

The second is David Coluccio. David is the General Manager of the Adelaide University Union. As such, some have protested the conflict of interest in his contesting the position. After all, he will no doubt have a pro-union bias in his role, should he get the Council position. Rodney Crewther is a Council Member (Staff Representative), and also heavily involved in the local NTEU Branch, and so it is worth noting that Cullucio’s decision to contest in no way breaks precedent. It could place David in an interesting position however when the Council discusses issues to do with the AUU, the relationship between those two being considerably different from that of the University and the NTEU. Despite the many arguments I have heard to the contrary, I’m inclined to think that should he get on, a seat on University Council would be a significant gain for the Union.

The last post-graduate candidate is Morteza Mohammadzaheri, about whom I know absolutely nothing. Update: Several readers have informed be that Morteza is involved with the Post-Grad Students Association, an (currently barely operating) affiliate of the AUU.

Voting closes 10am Friday the 30th. The results should be known by that afternoon. Update: My bad. It closes at that time on November the 6th. I.e. you still have 1 week to vote.