Adelaide Student Politics

Posted: Very early on the 19th of December

This is written on events currently in progress. For this reason, it is likely to contain errors or incomplete reporting. Subscribers with more information are encouraged to point out faults or supply missing facts from this post.

When it comes to dodgy practices involving the National Union of Students (NUS), it’s all in the family at Adelaide Uni.

NUS has a yearly conference when delegates from most Australian universities gather for a week in Ballarat. While there, they debate NUS policy, and vote on who the following years NUS Office Bearers will be. This is, understandably, difficult. Especially when the Labor Left and Right both want power.

Former AUU President Josh Rayner (Student Unity - Labor Right) became nationally infamous yesterday when, in his role as Returning Officer for the NUS Office Bearer elections, he was alleged to be involved in, according to NUS President David Barrow (NLS – Labor Left), “the withholding and manipulation of the campus accreditation report”.

While a campus is affiliated to NUS until it holds a successful student referendum seeking otherwise, every campus is required to pay affiliation fees on a yearly basis. This is on top of a $725 fee for each of the delegates it sends.

Crikey reporter Andrew Crook has the dispute arising as a result of an unclear cut-off date for fees (sorry, subscriber only). Cheques arriving on Monday were ruled ineligible, making some delegates, I presume, ineligible to vote. Furthermore, Crook writes that meetings to resolve this were held in the ‘dead of night, when members from opposing factions were asleep’.

Right-wing sources at Adelaide paint a slightly different picture, saying that when faced with a Labor-Right/Liberal coalition, the Left chose to pull quorum* instead of face a vote which would see them lose (Update: Left sources entirely dispute this, saying that even with a right-wing coalition they still had the numbers, and maintain that the left never pulled quorum). This would explain the one-hour of policy debate decried in a Liberal press release. I note the alternate account does not necessarily dispute the original account published this morning by Crikey.

Haywire has a great, though factually light, interview on the whole saga, which is far more critical of both factions than I dare be at this stage. Those interviewed seem to be of the opinion that this is the end of NUS. Update: NUS Delegates have informed me that Thomas Green is a member of the right-wing independents, and that the 'journalism student' is his fiance. Not that that discredits his opinion, but for the purposes of full disclosure and all...

Adelaide’s NUS delegates were recent AUU President Lavinia Emmett-Grey (Independent, running for NUS Welfare Officer from what I understand), Hayden Tronnolone (another Independent) Sarah Anderson (NLS), Ashleigh Lustica (NLS) and Jason Virgo (also NLS). Also elected were Unity members Andrew Anson and Tim Picton. At this stage, I understand that Andrew Anson did not choose to attend. Also absent from Adelaide is outgoing State President Robert Fletcher (NLS). AUU President Fletcher O'Leary assures me that the AUU is a financial member of NUS, having paid affiliation fees ($14K approx in 2010 $9000 in 2010, plus another $5000 approx in delegate registration fees) for the coming year.

I presume this means our delegates can vote, if this is indeed the issue here. Different sources suggest this to be just the result of infighting between the Labor factions, or something to do with affiliations not being accepted, 'denying access to some from the wheels of power'. Information right now is, unfortunately, scarce.

Barrow is quoted as saying he is seeking legal advice. The morning will no doubt bring new developments. Watch this space.



*Quorum of meetings of the National Conference is the presence of a majority of elected delegates (i.e. not counting proxies) (Item 23 of schedules, NUS Constitution, Section R23 P 17). Also of note, I could not find any Constitutional contingency plans should an executive fail to be elected at the National Conference, although the Heywire interview does broach the option of postal votes. The other option is, of course, for them to be appointed by the current executive, in which case NLS has a majority.