Eliza Croft and Jason Pover
“Reform ANUSA” launched today on a platform of improved campus parking, an NUS referendum, and rural and regional student outreach. The ticket, which is running only General Representative and NUS Delegate candidates, has been put together by current ANUSA General Representative Ashish Nagesh.
The ticket plans to push for a referendum on disaffiliating from the National Union of Students. Nagesh, an NUS Delegate candidate, was elected as a General Representative on the anti-NUS ticket “Stand Apart” and has been a prominent opponent of NUS accreditation and affiliation. In the debate on the NUS this year, he put forward a number of amendments for re-accreditation with the NUS, concerned with what he characterised as violent behaviour in the body. These amendments were not passed.
Reform ANUSA also promises to address the issue of parking on campus. It has suggested establishing carpooling as a solution, although the ticket has not yet provided details of how this will work. The ticket also wishes to reduce the cost of permits, although how they will do this is not clear given ANU releases permits.
Reform ANUSA is also pushing for “more transparent SSAF spending”. SSAF is the Student Services and Amenities Fee, which all students pay each semester. The funds are given to ANUSA, PARSA, Observer and a number of other organisations. Currently, the ANUSA Treasurer reports on spending at SRC meetings and General Meetings. ANUSA also generally publishes its SSAF bids online and has consultation sessions.
Rural and regional student outreach is another of the ticket’s plans. This has been an increasingly prominent concern for ANUSA tickets. Current Education Officer Harry Needham ran with supporting rural, regional, and remote students as part of his platform.
Reform is running candidates only for the positions of General Representative and Delegate to the National Union of Students. Of the twelve candidates, eight are men and four are women. Observer understands that at least four of the candidates are Young Liberals. These include Nagesh, Chris Atkins, Lachlan Ballard, and Rishi Dhakshinamoorthy.
The candidates for Reform ANUSA are:
- Ashish Nagesh (NUS Delegate)
- Christopher Atkins (NUS Delegate and Gen Rep)
- Krishna Shukla (Gen Rep)
- Lachlan Ballard (NUS Delegate and Gen Rep)
- Rishi Dhakshinamoorthy (NUS Delegate and Gen Rep)
- Cahill Di Donato (Gen Rep)
- Drishti Dhir (Gen Rep)
- Zayana Zakaria (Gen Rep)
- Thomas Huang (Gen Rep)
- Luca Hongguang (Gen Rep)
- Connor Andreatidis (Gen Rep)
- Robin Tu (Gen Rep)
- Rohin Singh (Gen Rep)
- Daniel Huang (Gen Rep)
So far, two other tickets have been announced: Refresh ANUSA and Ignite ANUSA. ANUSA Elections will be occurring online from 13 August to 16 August.
Eliza Croft did not write any sections about the National Union of Students.
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