Gen Rep Profiles

Created by Eliza Croft, Taz Hudson, Adelle Millhouse, Jason Pover, Skanda Panditharatne, and Jessica Whiting.

Content warning: some profiles contain mention of sexual assault and sexual harassment. 

Observer sent out a survey to all of the 41 candidates for Gen Rep in this year’s ANUSA elections. We collated the 33 responses into info cards for each candidate, including their recent experience, background, some policy priorities, and – just for fun – the number of emoji and random words in ALL CAPS they included in their Facebook DP caption. We hope that these cards will help you inform your vote.

The ordering of the cards is randomised each time the page is loaded. For candidates who did not submit a survey, we include their picture and ticket name, with no further information. Clicking on a card will open it in a new tab.

What do the questions mean?

• The question regarding National Union of Students (NUS) accreditation relates to the accountability and transparency-based Key Performance Indicators which the SRC sent to the NUS earlier this year.
• The question regarding livestreaming relates to the decision of the SRC earlier this year to ban livestreaming of their meetings on account of safety concerns. Observer has been liveblogging SRC meetings since the ban, and recording the meetings for delayed release.
• The question on physical campaigning zones relates to the exclusion zones which were amended last year. The exclusion zones, which can be found in Schedule B to the ANUSA Constitution, prevent candidates from campaigning in several areas, including the Pop-Up Village, Melville Hall, and the Copland precinct.
• The question on mandatory SSAF relates to the Student Services and Amenities Fee, which is a mandatory $300 fee students pay each year to pay for student services such as ANUSA.
• The question on fee deregulation refers to the 2014 proposal to allow universities to set their own course fees (whereas they are currently regulated by the Australian Government). The plan was ultimately scrapped in 2016.
• We asked the candidates to describe their biggest priority as a Gen Rep in 10 words or fewer. Some of them went over the limit – we strictly cut them off, and have marked this with an ellipsis.

Disclaimer: This is not a perfect summary. It won’t tell you anything about the character, competence or commitment of any of the candidates, and there are certainly great differences between candidates in all those areas. What it can tell you is which candidates agree with you on some of the most contentious issues facing ANUSA, and give an insight into how much their priorities match yours. Our recommendation is that you look at the candidates whose policies intrigue you, go check out their pages yourself, and see what you think.

Thank you to all the candidates who gave us your info! And if you’re struggling to choose, stay tuned for our Gen Rep Quiz.