Glass invited all candidates to submit a statement about why they’re running in the Guild elections and why you should vote for them. This statement is being published as received from the candidate.
Voting opens MONDAY 23rd OCTOBER 2023. You can read all candidate statements here.
Hi, I’m Isabella and I’m running for re-election as Environment Officer in the Guild. I’m part of Left Action, the only activist team running in the student elections. We want to turn the union into a fighting body that stands up for student rights and all left-wing issues students care about.
As the Environment Officer this year, I’ve organised activism on and off campus that QUT students have been involved in. At the start of the year, I organised a Brisbane contingent to a nation-wide climate protest for uni students. I’ve also gotten students to come out and protest the Scarborough Gas Project, which will be the most environmentally destructive mine in all of Australia. It’s been important to host meetings and talk to students on campus about why they care about climate justice, and what we can do to fight the rich and save the planet. Fighting for the climate means hating billionaire fossil fuel bosses like Gina Rhinehart, fighting alongside Indigenous people for land rights, and cutting all university ties with weapons and fossil fuel companies, and demanding renewable energy now. It will take radical demands to make the radical changes that can end climate change!
As Environment Officer, I have also organised campaigns around other attacks facing university students. In the last year students have seen their learning conditions go backward as our university underpays its staff and cuts courses. The Vice Chancellor, Margaret Sheil, is a millionaire who makes a $1.2 million salary. This is happening alongside a rising cost of living for students; we’re being forced to decide between paying rent, buying groceries, or visiting the doctor. The Labor government also recently indexed our HECS debt by a historic 7.1%. This year I’ve used my position to stand up against all these things and will continue to fight for student rights.
This is exactly why we need to get more activists elected to the QUT Guild, so that students can fight against injustice. Our union should stand up against sexism, racism, and homophobia – because students care about these issues. We should fight for our education to be put before university profits. And if climate is a number one issue for young people and students, we need an activist in the QUT Guild as Environment Officer.
Vote 1 Left Action for Environment Officer, as well as SRC and NUS!
