July 2025 SRC Wrapup

Content warning for racism/hatecrimes/murder. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware this article contains the name of someone who has died. 

The 5th SRC meeting of this year’s cohort began surprisingly smoothly as the major players on the SRC put on a show of unity for an upcoming event before the usual divisions naturally showed their faces in the following motions.

President Diya Sengupta opened the meeting and gave an Acknowledgement of Country. She mentioned the recent successful conviction of the white killers of the 15-year-old Indigenous boy, Cassius Turvey, in 2022. Turvey had been beaten to death by the men in a racially targeted attack. Some of Turvey’s friends were also assaulted.

 Motion 1: The UNSW Student Representative Council declares its full support for the National Union of Students (NUS) National Day of Action for Palestine, taking place on Thursday, August 7. Moved by Akash Nagarajan from Together Again (Labor).

Nagarajan, as well as Office bearers Emma Terry and Jamie Tyers from SAlt, outlined the need for weapons companies to get off campus, as well as for sanctions on Israel (rather than just the 2 cabinet ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who have been sanctioned by Australia so far). They all reiterated the importance of the SRC coming together to build the National Day of Action, and fittingly, the SRC also came together to pass this motion unanimously. 

Motion for discussion regarding how to organise the day:

Queer Officer Alyss Cachia said there should be a “massive” activation on the quad to make sure as many students as possible are aware of the event. 

There was cross-factional support from SAlt and Together Again for it to be a National Union of Students branded event. 

Owen from SAlt said there are many things that can be done for the event, including leaflets, posters, and bake sales, saying everyone’s ideas can be added and saying “Let a thousand blossoms bloom” as far as ideas for the day are concerned. This quote references the famous clip of Federal MP Bob Katter, who said this in response to being asked about gay marriage, before a segue to yelling about crocodiles.

Students with Disabilities Officer Conroy Blood promoted the idea of consensus decision making in the planning group; however, in a rare show of unity between SAlt and Together Again, this idea was quickly shot out of the air on the grounds that it can be hijacked by pro-Israeli students and generally can slow down decision making.

Queer Officer Ren Woodward said banner paint events are good as they allow people who cannot physically attend a rally because of accessibility issues to get involved.

President Sengupta said this may be the most productive SRC motion ever, which garnered rapturous applause.

 Motion 2: The SRC Says No War on Iran and endorses the National Union of Students statement opposing war on Iran. Moved by Jamie Tyers from SAlt.

Tyers outlined how attacks on sovereign nations in the Middle East are becoming footnotes in the news.

Officer Cachia seconded the motion, saying the rhetoric about the supposed Iranian nuclear program echoes the unfounded claims of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq holding weapons of mass destruction, which led to regime-change in that nation.

This is when Luke Cox, from Together Again, came to speak on the motion, saying that neoconservatives want a regional conflict, and pointed out that it is students and people of our age who are conscripted to wars. But, because there is a ceasefire in place, Cox said he and his faction were voting against the motion. This ends the brief cross-factional friendliness which Together Again and SAlt had suddenly gained in the last motion. SAlt members seemed equal parts outraged and confused at Cox’s voting intentions here. SAlt broadly found Cox’s reasoning to not only be flawed, but to be insufficient justification for voting against a motion. They encouraged Cox to essentially tell everyone the real reason they were voting against. It did seem like Cox was holding himself back- either from voting for the motion or from giving an elaboration as to why he was voting against. I say this because Cox has usually acted as Together Again’s most impassioned speaker, not afraid to stand and fight on his convictions. It seemed out of character for Cox to vote against something just because of the technicality that there is a ceasefire in place.

Cox then turned to Sengupta, saying it was a shame the NUS motion wasn’t shared on the SRC page. Sengupta said that if he had sent the NUS post to her, she would have posted it. 

With only the Labor members voting against, the motion passed.

Motion 3: The SRC endorses the Students for Palestine screening of 'The Settlers' and the National Convergence on Canberra for Palestine. Moved by Jamie Tyers from SAlt.

Cox seconded the motion, saying it is important that the SRC is united on the Palestine solidarity movement.

The motion was carried unanimously. 

 Motion 4: Solidarity with anti-ICE and anti-Trump protesters in the US. Moved by councillor Eva Beaumont from SAlt.

Eva says that protesters in the US have fought ICE raids and have changed the tone of politics. In seconding the motion, Councillor Cox said these are anti-union and anti-worker raids, mentioning that undocumented people make up the majority of union membership. He also asserted that it is an anti-union crackdown masked by anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Officer Blood spoke for the motion and underlined the importance of putting oneself at risk via taking part in unauthorised protest and direct action (i.e. disrupting police raids as opposed to taking part in a march), which he said is not happening so much in Australia as compared with the U.S.

People from the SAlt bloc began trying to argue with Blood about what he had said. Sengupta declares the motion carried and tells Officer Tyers that if he wants to rebut Blood he can do so in question time. Tyers and SAlt broadly took Blood’s statement to be a critique of Socialist Alternative’s protest tactics. Not keen to wait for Question time, SAlt used the next motion to continue the debate.

Motion 5: Abolish border detention. Moved by councillor Anais Williamson from SAlt.

Owen from SAlt opened the motion by rebutting what Blood had said, saying it was appalling to say the biggest antiwar movement is just parading around with flags. Blood is ready to hit back, but President Sengupta, who at the beginning had raised that she had been at work all day and running on little sleep, tells the council that if anyone else interjected they would be kicked out of the meeting.

There was some visible uncertainty I witnessed from the Labor camp as to where to stand on this motion. They ultimately decided to abstain.

More people from SAlt call out Labor for their large part in this issue, and Ellena Cheers-Flavell from 365 also detailed the horrible conditions in places like Nauru, which led to suicidal ideation in children.

The motion passed.

Motion 6: Condemning Police Violence at SEC Picket. Originally two separate motions, moved by Louisa Chen from SAlt and Queer Officer Alyss Cachia; the movers merged their motions together.

Officer Blood, for this motion, declared a conflict of interest, as he is friends with Hannah Thomas and other organisers of the protest, and he helped organise the protest during the early stages. 

The mover, SAlt councillor Louisa Chen, highlights the shaky legal grounds on which the protestors were moved on by police, as well as the violence they perpetrated towards demonstrators.

Together Again councillor Daniel Gulic moves an amendment to remove items 4-10 from the motion, one of which is for the SRC to pay for a care package for the protestors, on the basis that using Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) money on such a thing is not legal. President Sengupta rejects this assertion, pointing out that not all SRC money comes from SSAF. Sengupta says that while it is kind of stupid to even ask this, “Movers, do you accept this motion?”

“No!” Cachia and Chen call out in unison.

The motion passed with only the Labor members voting against, meaning the motion passed comfortably. 

Motion 7: Oppose the Victorian Labor government's anti-protest laws. Moved by Louisa Chen from SAlt.

Chen outlined the Victorian state Labor government’s proposal to ban masks and lock-ons, which she said is a repression of protestors. 

Councillor Cox spoke against, arguing that protests can make life harder for working people, and insisted that masks are used in protest for anonymity so that people can evade accountability for their actions at a protest.

Officer Blood points out that COVID-19 is not over and banning masks would lock immunocompromised people out of protest movements. It is worth mentioning that even for those who aren’t immunocompromised, wearing a mask when around large groups is a good idea for one’s health. 

Owen from SAlt said the ban would make it so that the police can track protestors and arrest them. 

With just Labor voting against, the motion passed.

Motion 8: Oppose the North West Shelf gas project extension. Moved by Emma Terry from SAlt.

Terry pointed out that the project would destroy Indigenous rock art on top of the extra emissions it would pour into the atmosphere, intensifying the impacts of climate change. 

Councillor Gulic spoke against the motion, arguing the project was necessary, insisting that gas produces fewer emissions and that this would allow our trading partners to mitigate their impact on the climate. 

Indigenous Officer Brydie Zorz spoke for the motion, outlining how people are sent into local Indigenous communities to force them to accept projects like these. She also mentioned the case of Rio Tinto’s destruction of part of Jukkan Gorge, a culturally significant site for the Indigenous people of that area. She stated that the argument regarding trading partners from Gulic was “stupid”. 

Councillor Cox came to speak against it, saying local Indigenous groups support the project, ignoring the point that Zorz had just raised. 

Officer Blood highlighted how there are a broad number of Indigenous people who reject Indigenous land councils having all the say as to whether a project is supported or not by the community.

All except Labor voted for, thus the motion passed. 

Motion 9: PALM scheme is modern slavery - it must be abolished. Moved by Brendan Tate from SAlt.

Officer Tate from SAlt outlined how the PALM scheme essentially enslaves Pacific-Islander people as their employers dictate pay, conditions, and do not provide overtime pay. He went on to say that the scheme has put people in the position where they need to terminate pregnancies to avoid deportation.

Councillor Cox goes to speak against, ignoring the calls from his factional friends who want to go home.

Cox argued that Labor was working hard to improve these workers' conditions and that it is a scheme beneficial to the country, the regional economy, and the workers, citing that they receive superannuation.

Again, with just Labor voting against, the motion passed. 

Motion 10: The SRC acknowledges the death in custody of Kumanjayi White, supports the calls for an independent inquiry and calls for the full implementation of the recommendations of the Royal Commission. Moved by Brydie Zorz, Independent.

Indigenous Officer Brydie Zorz spoke about how there have been at least 13 deaths in custody, which were preventable. This is because recommendations to prisons are not acted on, and the key one that Zorz mentioned was hanging points, which prisons have continually neglected to remove.

Queer Officer Cachia spoke for the motion, saying that so much labour is given to families who must fight for justice for their families all while they are still grieving. 

The motion was carried unanimously.

Question time/Meeting wrap up:

Mia from Noise asked a question to General Secretary Nagarajan on behalf of one of Noise’s readers, who asked how he reconciles supporting the National Day of Action whilst Labor nationally is arming Israel. Nagarajan answered that sometimes the faction can indeed stand against the position of the Labor party.

Indigenous Officer Brydie Zorz spoke to her officer report, encouraging people to attend NAIDOC week events, some of which the Indigenous Collective has organised. She also mentioned that UNSW was in progress with a microtreaty with First Nations people, a nationwide first. 

In the meeting evaluation, Brendan said he felt the beginning of the meeting was very productive, but wanted to call out the Labor council members for offering to help build the protest on the National Day of Action while supporting restricting protest rights. In that sense, the meeting was much like the aforementioned Bob Katter clip, promising and agreeable at first, before becoming an equally confounding yet engaging political argument.