Welcome back to Glass’s coverage of the QUT Student Representative Council (SRC) meetings! This is our coverage of Wednesday the 26th of August, with the meeting taking place at Kelvin Grove’s E-block, room 152.
All current students are welcome to attend SRC meetings. If you want to see change on campus, we encourage you to put forward a motion to the SRC.
COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
You can find a link to the minutes from the meeting on this page once published, and you can read our live coverage on threads.
AND WE’RE OFF!
Following some brief technical difficulties, the meeting was opened at 6:12pm by [temporary] Chair Samuel Hulls. Roll call confirmed the attendance of the following officers:
President – Caleb McGiffin
Secretary – Samuel Hulls
Welfare Officer – Isaac Oliver
Engagement Officer – Miles Hirst (Online)
Clubs and Societies Officer – Geoffrey Latz
Education Officer – Georgie Dobbs
Environment Officer – Yuanyi Tham
Postgrad Officer – Vaibhavi “V” Bisht
First Nations Officer – Mimi Lewis
Women’s Officer – Keely McConnell
Queer Officer – Lauren “Ren” Johnstone (Online)
Disability Officer – Felix Park Weir
Business & Law Faculty Councillor – Emmett Morrison
Business & Law Faculty Councillor – Elisabeth Kaptain
Health Faculty Councillor – Ethan Johnstone (Online)
Science Faculty Councillor – Rajit Bhargava (Online)
Science Faculty Councillor – Connor Lowe
CIESJ Councillor – Elowyn Gampe
Treasurer – Matthew Bloder (arrived late)
The following officers were absent with apologies:
International Officer – Rajinder Singh
CIESJ Faculty Councillor – Lucas Gordon
With two vacancies remaining for the position of Engineering Faculty Councillor, a potential candidate by the name of Joseph Wilson was named. However, Wilson was not in attendance, leaving the role unfilled.
Health Faculty Councillor Caitlin Brennan was absent without apologies and having been censured for attendance during the last council meeting, a motion for removal was automatically tabled by Secretary Samuel Hulls under Regulation 3.7. The motion passed, and Caitlin Brennan was subsequently removed from office.
MOTIONS WITH NOTICE
There were no reports from any of the collectives, and the minutes from last council were confirmed by President Caleb McGiffin. Because there were no motions with notice, the SRC moved onto motions without notice. The right to a ten-minute intermission was waived.
MOTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
BDS Youth Magandjin moves that the QUT Guild must adopt the APAN definition of anti-Palestinian Racism (APR) and will release a media statement highlighting its position on Anti-Palestinian Racism.
The first motion of the evening was moved by Student Observer Gana Ahmed.
Ahmed spoke on the prevalence of anti-Palestinian racism across Australian university campuses, emphasising the need for institutions like the QUT Guild to adopt a formal definition of APR.
“Embedding a formal definition of APR into the QUT GUILD anti-racism framework is vital, as it is essential to the identification and reporting of APR, as well as addressing it on campus,” Ahmed said.
Student observer Malaak Seleem seconded the motion, stating that “anti-Palestinian racism has occurred here on this campus, and it continues to occur. We are not asking the QUT Guild to stop anti-Palestinian racism, but we are asking the QUT Guild to take acts to exist within the framework of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s national anti-racism framework.”
Education Officer Georgie Dobbs also spoke in favour of the motion, highlighting the importance of the Guild standing up to racism directed towards Arab and Palestinian students.
When taken to a vote, the motion passed unanimously.
The QUT Guild Stands with the UQU and their “Hands Off” Protest
The next motion was moved Secretary Samuel Hulls and seconded by President Caleb McGiffin.
Hulls brought to light recent threats made by the University of Queensland towards the UQU (University of Queensland Union), which if followed through, could see the Union’s SSAF funding drop from 50% to 40%.
“Caleb and myself yesterday attended a protest at UQU to defend UQU against what are very severe attacks by the university,” stated Hulls. “This is like our sister union. We need to be defending all unions across Australia from cuts against the universities and attacks because these are extremely important bodies.”
Seconding the motion, President Caleb McGiffin stated that “student unions have always been inherently political, and to try and silence a union and threaten them with budget cuts, holding that over their head, weaponising funding, which is used for welfare, used for activism, and used for representation, is absolutely shameful.”
McGiffin followed up with an appeal to the QUT Guild to stand firm with the UQU.
Environment Officer Yuanyi Tham spoke for the motion, stating that “we need to stand in solidarity with the UQ Union, because this also comes in the context of a nationwide crackdown against student activism over Palestine.”
Before moving to a vote, Student Observer Gana Ahmed also spoke in favour of the motion.
“Last year, I used to be the ethno-cultural officer at UQU and that was before I moved here. And we did notice as BDS that every time we tried to do an event for Palestine that it was repressed and we always noticed that the university was prioritising their appearance and their agenda over what students wanted and what they cared for.”
The motion passed unanimously.
Endorse the School Strike against Hanson
First Nations Officer Mimi Lewis moved the third motion of the evening.
“Two weeks ago, 15,000 students across the country left their classes at 1pm, to oppose the rise of the far right. Based on the outcomes of this, it’s very, very, obvious that young people today know what they want, and they know that they don’t want Pauline Hanson,” Lewis said.
Science Faculty Councillor Connor Lowe seconded the motion.
“Talking to students at that protest, they all felt this shared responsibility of “if I don’t act now… we’ll just slide further and further to the right,” Lowe stated.
Environment Officer Yuanyi Tham and Education Georgie Dobbs spoke for the motion, with Dobbs stating the following:
“15,000 students is nothing to sneeze at, actually, it’s remarkably impressive that so many young people in high schools got involved in the protest…this protest has been the first time in this entire year where there has been loud oppositional approach towards her politics, which we just haven’t seen from any other institution in Australia.”
Before proceeding to a vote, First Nations Officer Mimi Lewis used their right of reply:
“We don’t want to just support this protest. We want this one to be bigger and better. We want to build it from the ground up. We want the Guild to put all of its resources and efforts into building this protest to be bigger than ever,” Lewis said.
The motion passed unanimously.
Labor Does Nothing to Halt Gambling Epidemic
The next motion was moved by CIESJ Faculty Councillor Elowyn Gampe, advocating for the QUT Guild to condemn the Labor/Liberal bill designed to reform gambling advertisment.
“The gambling industry in Australia is responsible for the total destruction of working-class families, increasing rates of domestic violence and financial abuse, and a worsening of living standards in Australia… I think this entire industry is an industry that should not exist,” Gampe said.
Seconding the motion was Science Faculty Councillor Connor Lowe, who followed Gampe’s sentiment by stating that “any other attempt to address it in such a way, especially with these milquetoast reforms, is simply farcical.”
First Nations Officer Mimi Lewis spoke for the motion, quoted as saying “we need to be able to stop them in their tracks of recruiting more and more people into the horrific industry that rakes in millions and millions of dollars off the backs of working-class people.”
Before moving to a vote, Secretary Samuel Hulls proposed an amendment to spell the late Peta Murphy’s name correctly—the former federal Labor MP for Dunkley, until her death in 2023. Gampe was amenable to the change, and when taken to a vote, the motion passed unanimously.
Europe’s heatwaves show we need radical solutions to the climate crisis
Environment Officer Yuanyi Tham moved the next motion. Regarding the upcoming El Niño and recent heatwaves sweeping the European continent, Tham said the following:
“This just has to be a massive wake up call for everyone around the world, and particularly here in Australia, because I just think it really shows that the climate crisis is not just something that we can ignore… What we’re actually seeing is governments around the world and these fossil fuel companies rolling back their environmental targets that they set 5 or 10 years ago,” said Tham.
Women’s Officer Keely McConnell seconded the motion, stating that “we’re actively choosing not to [implement renewable energy sources], because we don’t want to have to pay for them, instead of the things we’re currently paying for.”
CIESJ Councillor Elowyn Gampe compared the lack of governmental intervention to an international suicide pact.
“The establishment across the globe have actually linked arms in a suicide pact, saying ‘the profits must flow, the profits must flow’, and it’s f***ing crazy, we’re all thrown underneath,” Gampe stated.
In response to goading from Education Officer Georgie Dobbs, President Caleb McGiffin proposed an amendment, suggesting that the Greens party be included in the motion as responsible for the climate crisis—alongside the Labor and the LNP. The SAlt caucus were not amenable.
Environment Officer Yuanyi Tham spoke against the amendment.
“Let’s not forget the Labor Party even refuses to implement the sort of minor reforms that the Greens have advocated for. Let’s not forget that the Labor Party actually refused to implement a 20% gas export tax in the latest budget… it’s not the f***ing Greens.”
Following Tham, Women’s Office Keely McConnell refuted a point that McGiffin made about the Future Made in Australia program.
“I just wanted to acknowledge something that you said about the Future Made in Australia program. Obviously, it does have good aspects to it, but I would like to point out that Australia has just allowed a new mine for a rare earth and elements…
this is completely funded by the Pentagon, and it is purely just so that the US military can have Scandium for their military devices, so for drones, for bombs, etc. So, I love the concept of Australia generating stuff that is for Australia, but realistically that’s not what we’re investing in,” said McConnell.
Student Observer Saleem Maleek spoke against the amendment, stating that “if you truly are a Labor supporter, then you need to look within your party and see the corruption that’s occurring and point it out, rather than just defending it aimlessly and inaccurately…the Labor government is complicit.”
The amendment failed; 9 votes to 10.
Education Officer Georgie Dobbs claimed the last speaking position for the original motion: “[the climate crisis] is obvious to anyone with a brain and eyes, but I don’t think it’s obvious to any Labor politician.”
When taken to a vote, the motion passed unanimously.
The QUT Guild condemns the lack of action around the ongoing Gender-Based Violence crisis in Australia
The second to last motion of the evening was moved by Women’s Officer Keely McConnell. McConnell, providing statistics emphasising the severity of the crisis, condemned the lack of action being taken against gender-based violence.
“Last time I spoke at council about gender-based violence, the femicide death toll was 42. Now, 31 days later, it is at 48. That’s one death every five days over this last month. There have also been two horrific gang rapes of schoolgirls in Sydney and Canberra.
“There also have been two mysterious deaths of teenage girls that have been reported, with both having a man in custody currently for those deaths. These numbers and attacks make me feel disgusted, scared and horrified. I am scared for the future of women and girls in Australia.
“Women and children are dying, or being assaulted, every day. There should be urgency to implement mandatory respectful relationships education from prep all the way through to tertiary education,” said McConnell.
The motion was seconded by Disability Officer Felix Parker Weir, who stated that “we cannot be, on one hand, be saying that we stand against gender-based violence, and on the other hand, be doing things like showing support for the police and for other institutions that perpetuate this issue. I just hope that everyone in this room is actually seeing this as urgently as it is.”
Speaking for the motion, President Caleb McGiffin is quoted as saying “I think that we really need a Royal Commission into this because it’s become such an issue of national importance.”
The closing statement came from CIESJ Officer Elowyn Gampe, who spoke for the motion.
“I don’t oppose a Royal Commission into gender-based violence, but the reality is we already know what causes it. What’s been causing it is the gender pay gap in Australia, which has not actually significantly reduced since 2006 if you factor in the fact that women are overwhelmingly forced into part-time work. The gender pay gap in Australia is 30%,” Gampe said.
The motion passed unanimously.
QUT Guild Condemns the Deaths the NDIS Bill Will Cause
The final motion of the evening was moved by Disability Officer Felix Parker Weir.
“…How absolutely shocking it is that so many people, and so many experts can get up and tell you that this is a terrible idea, that it has not been done with proper consultation, and that it will cause the deaths of many, many people…personally I would love to hear the Labor members in the room talk about how you would even defend this happening within your part, how you think this is possibly okay, or something that you can stand by,” Weir said.
The motion was seconded by Environment Officer Yuanyi Tham, who’s quoted as saying that “thousands of people are going to f***ing die from the fact that they are simply unable to actually afford the disability care that they desperately need…this should be a moment of outrage for everyone.”
“I do actually want to hear from [the Labor Party members]. What do you have to say about these cuts? Do you defend your party?” said Tham.
President Caleb McGiffin spoke for the motion, also responding to accusations of supporting the legislation.
“On the point of last month’s council meeting, how we stayed silent, I’ll remind everyone that we stayed silent because I did not wish to speak because I had already made my views on the NDIS Amendment Bill very clear in the previous two council meetings and I didn’t intend to repeat myself. I will repeat myself now,” stated McGiffin.
“At no point have I defended the NDIS amendment bill. I have actively spoken against it. I’ve been outspoken in my disagreement with this bill and the decision to remove funding from the NDIS. So, to socialist alternative, I’m sorry that this isn’t Uni Melb and you can’t wedge me on this because I don’t defend this policy and I never have. I really believe that we should be supporting disabled people and that we need to be listening to that lived experience and how we determine our spending and how we determine those welfare services and that support and not just silencing those voices and cutting it, which I have already said.”
Education Officer Georgie Dobbs also spoke for the motion, primarily retorting McGiffin’s comments.
“You should all hang your heads in shame, genuinely, that you’re part of a party that is okay with ripping funding away from some of the most disenfranchised people in our country. You are a part of a party, and a faction, in the Labor Party that actually do support the cuts,” said Dobbs.
President McGiffin used their right of reply.
“Thank you, Georgie. That was fantastic. I just want to ask Socialist Alternative if they 100% wholeheartedly agree with every policy that their National Party has ever put forward or that their leaders have suggested,” said McGiffin.
McGiffin continued, demanding to know whether the SAlt caucus condemned an article written in 2005 by one of the group’s founding members, Sandra Bloodworth.
“I want to know about Sandra Bloodworth’s comments on the age of consent. What do you think about that? Do you support that? Because she was never fired when she put those suggestions forward in red flag. She was never penalized. She remained on the socialist executive. So, I’m just interested in that, because you want to call out me because I disagree with one policy of my party, so I’m interested in your opinion on that,” McGiffin stated.
Following McGiffin’s right of reply, the room erupted into an unintelligible argument, with members from the SAlt caucus berating McGiffin. When order was eventually restored, Disability Officer Felix Parker Weir responded to McGiffin’s comments.
“The question was not how you personally rationalise the kind of cognitive dissonance that it takes to hold that position and to stay within the party, it was asking you to defend the decision of the party. You say that you personally don’t stand by it, but you are still a part of that party. And I also think that it is an absolute cop out to say that you haven’t been speaking about the NDIS because you don’t want to repeat yourself because I honestly think that we can’t assume that that is your position,” said Weir.
“When I ask you a genuine question about defending the decision, because that was you up there who made the first comment about it, and I asked you to go up there and genuinely defend it, and you took cheap political shots,” concluded Weir.
In spite of the arguing, the motion passed unanimously.
QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
With all motions heard, the SRC moved onto questions without notice.
Posing a question to the Labor caucus, Student Observer Malaak Saleem asked the following:
“What is the Guild doing to ensure that QUT is disclosing their weapons ties, monetary and academic ties to Israel, and what are you guys planning on doing to achieve a divestment?”
President Caleb McGiffin responded to the questioning, stating, “the answer to that is that we could definitely be doing more. I agree that it’s something we need to be looking into, and I’m glad that you raised it because it’s something that should take priority…this year, we probably dropped the ball a bit and I think it’s something that we should be correcting.”
Before events concluded, Welfare Officer Isaac Oliver posed an open question to the Council. Oliver’s enquiry centred on an alleged withdrawn motion at the UQU (University of Queensland) Council, wherein collectives cannot overrule the decisions of office bearers.
Student Observer and Queer Collective Convenor Kai Nelson answered Isaac’s enquiry:
“I believe there is a motion being passed at the UQU Council right now that is moving to amend the regulations. So, the way it currently works, and I am not known on all the facts, so please correct me if I am wrong, but the way it currently works is if an office bearer… makes a decision and the Collective decides that that decision is not accurate or representative of that respective officer or department, they can hold a general meeting with their collective and override the decision of the respective officer,” they shared.
“The current motion going on at the UQU Council is to get rid of that. So, the collective decision can no longer overhaul that of the officer.”
Closing
With no further questions, Chair Samuel Hulls closed the meeting at 7:50pm.
The next meeting will take place on Thursday the 17th of September. It will take place at 6:00pm at QUT’s Gardens Point Campus, room O-303.
See you next time Glassies xoxo
