USU Board Candidates 2019: Nick Forbutt

National Labor Students

International and Global Studies III

“Pick Nick”.

Quiz Score: 78%

Interviewed by Joseph Verity and Alan Zheng.

Candidate Profile: 

Like his Labor counterpart, Nick Forbutt boasts a polished CV and professional presentation heading into this election. Despite apparently deciding to run for Board earlier this year, Forbutt’s experience lends itself well to his candidacy, with a number of C&S executive positions and a conveniently nascent career in student politics fostered by the SRC.

This is a virtue Forbutt is willing to capitalise on, advising us during his interview that he was one of the most experienced candidates to run this year. It’s also a quality that is reflected in his quiz score, which ranks second highest amongst all the candidates. Forbutt also offers by far the most comprehensive policy platform out of any of the candidates, with detailed policies dedicated to C&S funding reform, sexual misconduct reporting policy, and the ongoing campaign for international student concessions.

Forbutt is, without a doubt, an exceptionally well rounded candidate when it comes to institutional knowledge and reciting policy points. Where his occasional weakness shows is in his reticence to discuss issues outside of his policy statement. At multiple points during his interview, Forbutt refused to adopt a position on issues he hadn’t previously considered, including at one point opting to remain neutral on the expansion of affirmative action to disabled, international, and First Nations students, citing the “complexity” of the issue.

Students no doubt have a reliable and safe choice when it comes to picking Nick. Forbutt’s policies are extensive and well thought out. Perhaps it’s likely in the future, given the opportunity to refine his political chops, Forbutt will grow more confident in his ability to hash out policy intuitively.