November 2025 SRC Wrap-Up

Given just how heated the last few weeks of campaigning for the 2026 UNSW SRC—and, indeed, the last year’s worth of meetings for the 2025 Council—have been, it’s reasonable to assume that the final meeting of our outgoing Office Bearers would be much the same. I myself expected last-ditch motions attempting to secure the future of each member’s tickets, or just their individual legacies, and infighting unrestrained by the shackles of our representatives’ ongoing responsibilities. And yet, as the fateful evening approached, it seemed this very last meeting was also shaping up to be the very shortest that we had seen from this year’s SRC.

It appears President Diya Sengupta (365) was equally aware of this, as she ended up allowing a near-unprecedented number of late motions to be put forward for consideration, and even flavoured her opening reminder of Arc’s Safer Spaces Policy with a barely-concealed encouragement to act out of line and “give [her] a treat for the last SRC meeting,” by allowing her that last chance to kick offending OBs out of the meeting room. Unfortunately, the only chance she had to pull rank was when Noise correspondent Max Richter-Weinstein accidentally almost hit someone in the head while throwing a bag of chocolates (which Sengupta had handed out as a parting gift) to another attendee—and, despite all attempts to prevent an uneventful send-off for our current student representatives, this meeting was ultimately a very mild conclusion to an SRC that has been anything but.

The first, and originally the only, scheduled motion of the meeting was moved by Queer Officer Alyss Cachia (Independent) and asked the Arc Board to reconsider any future events held at their iconic Roundhouse venue in association with Fuzzy Entertainment. As members of Superstruct Entertainment, Fuzzy Entertainment is under the ownership of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Inc. (KKR), an American global private equity and investment company, which has been the subject of an international boycott movement for its ties to weapons manufacturing companies, the Coastal GasLink pipeline, and Israeli corporations operating in occupied Palestinian territories. Cachia called for Arc to cut contracts with events run by Fuzzy Entertainment, and to not provide a venue space for them until they “publicly and financially distance themselves from KKR’s complicit investments.”

Councillor Avasa Bajracharya (Left Action) seconded, stating that this motion was evidence of how deep the ties between institutions and Israeli corporations that are complicit in genocide really are. With no dissenters, Sengupta stepped forward to remind her fellow SRC members of the fact that they work under Arc, and the importance of voting for the Arc Board. When representatives notice Arc conducting itself in a problematic manner, they have the right, and the responsibility, to bring it forward to the Arc Board and inform them that the student body doesn’t agree with their decisions—voting for the Board ensures that these changes get passed. The motion passed unanimously.

The evening’s second motion, moved by Education Officer Jamie Tyers (Left Action), sought the SRC’s endorsement of the blockade against the Indo-Pacific International Maritime Exposition, which occurred on the morning of Tuesday, November 4th. As Tyers explained, numerous weapon companies that have enabled and profited from the genocide in Gaza, such as Elbit Systems, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Thales, Raytheon, Honeywell, and L3Harris, were advertising their weapons at this expo. Having stressed the importance of the rally and asked for a show of hands for all those at the meeting who would be attending—which included a call-out to Councillor Daniel Gulic for saying he would not be participating—Tyers conceded part of his speaking time to give people the opportunity to spread the word about the blockade. Councillor Zack Hossain (Left Action) seconded the motion, backing Tyers’ request by telling his fellow SRC members to contact all those they had been campaigning with over the last few weeks to tell them to come along to the protest. With no abstentions or votes against the motion, Sengupta allocated the final minute and a half of speaking time to allow further time to spread the word. Noise’s coverage of the blockade will be published shortly.

Following on from Tyers’ condemnations of Trump and Netanyahu’s ceasefire, Environment Officer Emma Terry (Left Action) moved a third motion, calling on the UNSW SRC to demand “real peace based on self-determination for the Palestinian people” and “an end to Australia’s military, economic and diplomatic relations with Israel.” Speaking to her motion, Terry said that Israel has been consistently ignoring the so-called ‘ceasefire,’ having killed hundreds of Palestinians since its inception. Terry insisted that Donald Trump’s twenty-point peace plan is not really aiming for peace, and Tony Blair, Donald Trump, and the Israeli government cannot be trusted when they say they want ‘peace.’ In seconding the motion, Councillor Louisa Chen (Left Action) stated that every major institution intends to accept this peace and “sweep the genocide and its long-term impacts under the rug.” Chen encouraged the SRC to pressure the university and the Australian government to make changes and allow for peace, divestment, aid, and rebuilding for Palestine. SAlt’s Seb stressed that the SRC cannot “let up or stop the fight” and should remain highly mobilised to oppose the plan. The motion passed unanimously.

Motion four was moved by Students with Disabilities Officer Conroy Blood (Young Greens), congratulating Students for Palestine for their growth and the awareness they have brought to the genocide and occupation of Palestine, and calling for increased transparency in the organisation as they become a nationalised body. Blood expressed his support for the proposal to continue the movement, but also his belief in grassroots democracy, and his concerns surrounding membership fees and data security. After some hesitation, Cachia put her hand up to second, affirming the worry of sectarianism in leftist spaces, but supporting this motion as a genuine critique that she hoped members of Students for Palestine would be able to respond to. 

Tyers spoke against the motion, explaining that the fee was solely used for fundraising for students who don’t yet have the funding or union affiliation to set up chapters of Students for Palestine at their universities. He added that these transparency issues would be discussed at the national conference next year, and that people have the choice to become members or not if they are concerned about the security of their personal information. Though SAlt member Owen validated Blood’s concerns, he spoke against the motion for setting a precedent of a student union opposing, in writing, a leftist group like this, and stated that people should be uplifting those who do organising for groups like Students for Palestine. In his right of reply, Blood stressed that this motion was not an opposition to the nationalisation of Students for Palestine, but instead an advocacy motion hoping to make sure the SRC has in writing their stance on Students for Palestine’s organisation moving forward. 

Cachia and members of 365 and Unity voted for the motion, with Queer Officer Ren Woodward abstaining. Although Left Action unilaterally voted against it, the motion still passed, due to a missing proxy form from Councillor Jacob Mulholland. SAlt’s Owen continued to voice his opposition, claiming that this was comparable to a student union making a formal decision on the internal structure of The Greens party. Sengupta pulled up the motion with the intention to discuss, but was largely silenced by the discussion continuing over the top of her, so reached her own conclusion on the fairness of the motion. Before moving on to the next matter, Tyers taunted Blood for being “cranky” and only moving the motion because he wasn’t successfully re-elected for 2026.

Blood’s next motion, motion five, asked the UNSW SRC to support Jenny Leong’s Human Rights Bill. If you’ve ever sat in on a Constitutional law lecture—as I, and I’m sure my fellow Law student Conroy, have done far too many times—then you are likely already aware Australia is the only Western democracy without a Bill of Rights enshrining in law the human rights of its citizens at either a Constitutional or Federal level. Blood says this new Bill will, at least on a State level, give people the opportunity to challenge decisions made by the State government and public services, and fight for justice when they are discriminated against or have bad experiences with the public sector. Cachia seconded this motion as well, joking that Blood “needed more friends” to second his motions in her place, and affirming that the bill will enable activists across the state to make more progress with university management on the issues that impact them. The motion passed.

While motion six, which sought the SRC’s support for Sudan and Sudanese students amidst ongoing conflict in the region, was moved by Cachia, she chose to concede her speaking time to the recently elected 2026 Students with Disabilities Officer, Ana Dougenis (365). She spoke to the recent fall of El-Fasher, the capital of Sudan's North Darfur State, to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary widely alleged to be funded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). El-Fasher has served as a key refugee centre for the over 13 million displaced people fleeing the conflict in Sudan’s West Darfur region. Dougenis stressed the importance of the SRC supporting any actions and uprisings that occur, with the motion in particular calling for the SRC to condemn the RSF and the UAE, to work with the university to allow students impacted by the conflict to apply to UNSW Special Considerations, and to endorse and build any rallies organised around the issue. Cachia raised an amendment to change the wording of this final request so that the SRC will specifically support progressive actions, not just any rallies. 

Councillor Luke Cox (Together Again) seconded the motion, citing the UAE’s complicity in the genocide in Gaza and saying he was not surprised they would be similarly involved in Sudan. He emphasised that people need to remember that each issue is interlinked, and that the focus should be on supporting all those who are suffering in such conflicts, instead of attempting to divide the public’s attention. SAlt’s Owen spoke to the context surrounding the revolution and civil war in Sudan, and the many attempted military coups and atrocities which have been committed by both sides. He insisted that support should be given to progressive causes that are against oppression from all parties, and uplift the voices of ordinary Sudanese people. The motion passed.

Some playful bickering lightened the mood of the meeting during a five-minute break, with comments being made on SHOUTOUT!’s free tea and coffee policy by Blood, who ran (unsuccessfully) with the ticket for re-election for 2026, and a humorous accusation made by Cox against Tyers for breaking Sankalp’s leg. Sankalp ran successfully for a Councillor A position for 2026—Tyers jokingly retorted that Sankalp shouldn’t have committed campaigning violations in the Colleges if he didn’t want his leg broken.

The final last-minute motions of the night were moved en bloc, all at once and without speakers, per Tyers’ request, as no one had expressed opposition, and many members of the SRC would be attending the Indo-Pacific International Maritime Exposition blockade early in the morning. Gulic briefly spoke to the seventh motion, expressing his hope for Arc to expand the opening hours of Homeground, a cafe located beside the Village Green, for the convenience of students studying late on campus and seeking the caffeinated support of a cup of coffee. 

Cox moved the eighth motion for the Whitehouse to reopen as an affordable bar and cafe for students, with Sengupta adding an amendment to ensure the space goes to Arc or another non-profit, and not a retailer. During its over a hundred years standing on Alumni Lawn, the Whitehouse has served as part of the Kensington Racecourse, housed the Australian Army during WWII; been a plumbers’ workshop; a studio for the National Institute of Dramatic Arts; a Faculty of Law centre focused on issues in the media; and a site for UNSW’s Equity and Diversity Unit. Unfortunately, the Whitehouse has been empty since the conclusion of Arc’s 10-year lease in 2021. 

Both motions passed without opposition, though Sengupta noted Homeground’s ongoing struggles to turn a profit, even with their current opening times. Terry attempted to pull quorum and end the meeting so that those attending the Blockade could leave early, which Sengupta said “was the pot calling the kettle black”, given just how much time Left Action had wasted during the other meetings. Even so, Left Action’s members attempted to pull quorum again later in the evening, when Richter-Weinstein went to ask a question from Noise’s viewing audience, to which Richter-Weinstein responded that it was “very telling” that SAlt did not want to be held accountable by the student population, shutting down any further attempts to leave early.

In the final reports of the 2025 SRC, Sengupta sought to highlight all of the achievements and successes of the last year, including the new Clothes Hub, the National Day of Action for Palestine, the council’s work on short extensions, and Clubs reforms. Terry commented on the National Day of Action and drew comparisons to the Student General Meeting held by Students for Palestine last year, and the fact that they did not receive enough support for it. All other reports were taken as read. 

In the written reports, Tyers discussed his attempts to organise a debate between university management and student representatives about their research and investment ties—negotiations he says were stonewalled by the university. 

Terry cited her work organising and attending rallies with groups such as Students for Palestine, Rally against Racism, Rising Tide (notably, the only environment-focused movement mentioned by our Environment Officer), and the aforementioned Blockade. 

Cachia highlighted some of the events the Queer Collective has been busy with over the last month, including a visit to the Maritime Museum, an Upcycling Workshop, and the Queer Boat of Horror Cruise, as well as their work with other Queer clubs on campus and at other universities. 

Welfare Officer Brendan Tate (Left Action) spoke to the murder of at least 93 Palestinians by Israel since the ceasefire began in early October, which has spurred him to spend his time organising and promoting the Blockade. 

Paddington Domestic Officer Edward Zhong and Paddington Representation Officer Danielle Moutopoulos spoke to their continued efforts to strengthen the Paddington SRC’s connection with the international student body, and to provide better support for all students, organising Paddington’s Stress-Less Week and collaborating with the Ethno-collective on the “Pups n’ Pastries” event, which featured UNSW’s recently-retired support samoyeds, Jasper and Luka.

As meeting observer, Cachia says that she “has some job applications” for the members of Left Action, and pamphlets on “How To Leave The Labor Party” for Unity, “Campaigning 101 for Dummies” for 365, and “Conflict Resolution” for Blood specifically. The 2025 UNSW SRC’s final meeting came to its conclusion at 7:32 pm, remarkably, less than an hour after it began.

And, as for me? Well, obviously, my evening ended with my recapture. Why else do you think it took me so long to post this coverage? I’ve had to scratch it into the walls of my cell!