Day 2 of the National Union of Students Conference can be likened to cramming an assignment the night it is due.
By this we mean no one knows how they’ll get it done, how long it will take, or what they’re even writing it on.
Confusing analogy aside, #NUSNatCon23 continues to be an unpredictable demonstration of student factions’ attempting to maintain the record for the most screeches into the mic.
Honi arrived at Building Q at 9am sharp, only to be met with a sea of unwashed blue shirts representing Unity. While the morning session was adjourned, we quickly became aware of several backroom tensions bubbling over from the night before: Unity threatening to break a deal with Grassroots; Unity appeasing NLS’ demands over motion 2.19; along with SAlt and Grassroots debating whether to pull quorum in support of Palestine.
After over 30 minutes of delay, the morning session was officially adjourned. Huzzah.
Whilst Grassroots, NLS & SAlt were absent from the morning session, Unity remained in the auditorium with their pearly whites on display.
After the adjournment of the morning session, student media wearily trekked it to the local coffee shop (shoutout to Mt Helen’s Krooze In Cafe) hoping that the conference would resume in the afternoon.
We were in luck.
Quorum was met after NLS returned to the conference, receiving undeserved applause from some (Unity) delegates.
It’s worth noting the structure of NatCon at this point. Sessions move through the motions stipulated in the NUS’ 2023 Policy Book. Although this is supposed to be chronological, delegates have passed a series of procedurals and amendments to sort motions by their portfolios, and move some en bloc.
For those living blissfully unaware of the buzzwords of NatCon (or any student union proceeding for that matter) we have broken it down further here:
- Procedurals: adjustments made to the code of conduct of the meeting. For example, speaker times, meeting adjournments for breaks or even student media coverage rules.
- Amendments: changes made (usually phrasing adjustments, additional sentences, omissions or further clarifications) to the official policy book.
- En bloc: to move, discuss and vote on multiple motions at once. For example, almost every motion today was grouped in this way.
And finally –
- Motions: arguably the most important of the three, motions are decisions or commitments that delegates want to see the NUS make. They often signal support or commendation for current government policies or legislation impacting Australian students.
You might be asking why Honi included the definition of motions last when we’ve just emphasised its importance.
Good question. Factions sometimes use procedurals and amendments to platform petty disagreements or trying to be funny. Today, that looked like singing “Happy Birthday” to Taylor Swift and setting up a split screen of Subway Surfers and the motion list – as if we’re on TikTok or something. The outcome delays the progression of motions, and the Conference as a whole.
Returning to the afternoon session, today focused on condemning the genocide in Palestine and platforming the urgent cost of living and housing crisis.
Unity maintained their obnoxious commitment to voting en bloc, yelling “Unity up!” at every turn and reminding us that their delegates cannot think for themselves.
But in an unexpected move, Palestinian Unity member Nour Al Hammouri took to the stand to give a moving speech arguing that holding the Israeli government to account for the atrocities unfolding in Gaza should never be compared to anti-semitism.
Nour said, “I should not have to stand here and constantly explain my identity.” He went on to share personal and family experiences before condemning the Israeli government, arguing that “bombing children is not self-defence.”
Arguably the most controversial amendment of the night was 4.5: Keep (Student) Politics Clean. As it stood at the beginning of the session, the NUS’s constitution enshrined a ban on all gifts and donations to its delegates and executive. Unity proposed an amendment to change this “ban” to a “public gift register.”
This comes after accusations by SAlt made against Unity for accepting funded “propaganda trips” to Israel earlier this year.
The widespread dissent triggered a ‘campus vote’ which meant that voters for and against stood on either side of the room for a manual vote count. While there was speculation that South Australian and Tasmanian Unity would split from the rest of their caucus in support of the original ban, Unity maintained the majority of votes and their amendment passed.
In response, the voters against the amendment chanted “FREE FREE PALESTINE” and took a group photo in solidarity with Gaza.
The night ended on the bloc pertaining to motions 4.7 through to 4.11, meaning the Welfare chapter was completed today.
Thank fuck!
Honi Soit’s coverage will attempt to resume on Instagram and X at 9am for NatCon’s next session.
Disclaimer: Simone Maddison is a current member of USYD Grassroots & Zeina Khochaiche was previously affiliated with state Labor.
A previous version of this article said “the entire Welfare and Education chapter were completed today” but was corrected to “the Welfare chapter was completed”.
