News // SRC

RepsElect 3 2018: Live!

Join Honi for the worst work Christmas party ever

by Honi Soit

December 18, 2018

Honi Soit December 18, 20188:13 pm

Demilitarised zone removed, an empty room reunited

Caccamo and the security are pulling down the security tape that divided the room. $2000 of SRC funds was allegedly spent on security arrangements for a meeting that never started.

Honi Soit December 18, 20188:06 pm

Meeting lapsed at 7.58pm

Malavisi (Reboot) directly addressed Honi.

“The reason this happened is because Zac O’Farrell wouldn’t fucking get his shit together and fucking come in.”

Luo (Shake Up) added to her comments. “Because we can’t get elections tonight, because one councillor has stopped this entire meeting from going ahead, we are in a situation whereby this organisation is going to be in so much more difficulty. That’s what’s happened tonight.” Luo also emphasised the imminence of SSAF negotiations, which are integral to the SRC’s funding.

Karen Chau also spoke. “I understand that student politics has rough and tumbles in certain ways, but because of the way that council works, we need to do meetings and negotiations well in advance so that this doesn’t happen in the moment of the meeting. I encourage everyone to keep communicating with each other so that we can sort it out.”

Caccamo then promptly conducted a quorum count at 7.58pm, and only 9 councillors were present. Vinil Kumar (SAlt) moved a motion to lapse the meeting, which was redundant, seeing as the inquorate meeting would lapse according to regulations regardless. The meeting did indeed lapse, and that puts an end to the shortest RepsElect of this year’s three-part saga.

Honi Soit December 18, 20187:55 pm

Switchroots pull quorum

Honi hears that Switchroots is pulling quorum to prevent Zac O’Farrell from getting a position. He is allegedly gunning for the highest position he can, which is likely to be Welfare Officer.

Honi Soit December 18, 20187:46 pm

Zac O’Farrell stirring the pot?

Honi hears that Zac O’Farrell (Ban the Socialist Alternative) is refusing to enter the meeting room. His presence is required for quorum to be achieved. Honi hears that he is currently negotiating with the majority bloc to secure a position, the nature of which we are not yet aware. All paid positions except the election of the Women’s Officer have been elected.

Honi Soit December 18, 20187:30 pm

Third quorum count fails

At 7.28pm, Caccamo counts 12 councillors in the room. James Ardouin (Colleges for SRC) moves a motion to extend for thirty minutes, seconded by Gabi Stricker-Phelps (Shake Up). Next quorum count at 7.58pm.

Honi Soit December 18, 20187:11 pm

Quiet night

There are only ten or so observers sitting in the observers’ section of the room, a huge decrease from the last two failed meetings. This is likely due to this meeting being timed so close to Christmas and the holiday season. SRC Vice President Dane Luo (Shake Up) tells Honi that he is feeling “stressed” tonight. Switch Councillor and Honi reporter Kelli Zhao describes RepsElect 3 as a “flaky fuckboy” according to her fuckboy taxonomy.

Honi Soit December 18, 20187:01 pm

Second quorum count fails

Caccamo announces another quorum count at 6.58pm. 16 councillors are present. Only Zac O’Farrell (Ban the Socialist Alternative) is yet to arrive. Adriana Malavisi (Reboot) moves a motion to wait another thirty minutes, seconded by James Ardouin (Colleges for SRC). Next quorum count will take place at 7.28pm.

Honi Soit December 18, 20186:47 pm

Prudence Wilkins-Wheat arrives

Wilkins-Wheat arrived at 6.41pm after her long drive. Quorum requires three more councillors to arrive.

Honi Soit December 18, 20186:36 pm

Where in the world is Prudence Wilkins-Wheat?

Wilkins-Wheat (Switch) spoke to Honi at 6.33pm and confirmed that she was ten to fifteen minutes away. Wilkins-Wheat’s presence is necessary for the SRC to achieve quorum. A further three councillors who had confirmed their presence tonight are still unaccounted for.

Honi Soit December 18, 20186:31 pm

First quorum count

At 6.28pm, Returning Officer Karen Chau and Secretary to Council Cameron Caccamo conducted a quorum count. 13 councillors were present. Dane Luo (Shake Up) moved a motion to wait another thirty minutes, which passed unopposed. Another quorum count will be called at 6.58pm.

Honi Soit December 18, 20186:27 pm

A house divided

The room is divided into two sections. The left side is where the councillors and Honi Soit will be seated. The right side is for observers. The seats in the middle have been sectioned off with security tape, creating a demilitarised zone.

Honi Soit December 18, 20186:23 pm

Maximum security

Upon entering the room, all attendees were required to sign in, show their student IDs, and unlike previous meetings, undergo a bag check.

Honi Soit December 18, 20186:14 pm

Welcome to RepsElect again, again.

Hello! Welcome to RepsElect 3: Christmas Special, the third attempt by the 2019 Students’ Representative Council (SRC) to elect office-bearer positions after two previous meetings ended in chaos.

The fate of RepsElect 3 is balanced on a knife’s edge—quorum requires 17 councillors to be physically present in the room. Presently, 16 councillors have confirmed they will be there. Quorum will only be attained once Prudence-Wilkins-Wheat (Switch), who is driving to the meeting from Queensland, arrives.

Wilkins-Wheat spoke to Honi at 4.54pm and confirmed that she was at a rest stop near Newcastle, roughly two hours away from Sydney. The meeting, which was scheduled to start at 6:00pm, cannot begin until she arrives. Councillors may vote to hold another quorum count at 6:30pm, and can continue to do so for however long it takes to attain quorum.

Councillor Madeline Ward (Grassroots) will be resigning her position tonight to Layla Mkh (Grassroots), one of the preselected Wom*n’s Officers.

Interestingly, Manchen Wen (Panda) has proxied their vote to SRC President Jacky He. The President normally chairs the meeting, so it is unclear at this point how He plans to coordinate both roles.

Tonight’s coverage is conducted by the following editors:

Live blog: Annie Zhang

Twitter: Alan Zheng

Static camera: Liam Thorne, Nell O’Grady and Joe Verity

Roving camera: Carrie Wen

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