Degree: Bachelor of Engineering (Civil)
Faction: Liberal
Quiz score: 35%
Colour: Light Blue
You can read the full transcript of Thomas’ interview here.
It has been five long years since a Liberal candidate has taken a run for the SRC Presidency, yet it seems little has changed in Thomas Thorpe’s approach to this election. As his predecessors did before him, Thorpe attempts to present himself as a moderate candidate, seeking to turn from political egotism and radicalism to focus on service provision and “governance over parliamentary politics.”
However, behind this veneer of moderation and reason, an unmistakably severe conservatism is present. Despite declaring to leave his politics at the door in his presidency, Thorpes’ views on climate change, the Campus Access Policy, and Morrison–esque religious rhetoric set him out as a markedly right wing candidate.
Thorpe’s quiz score was the lowest of any candidate, at 35%. This places his knowledge of the SRC — and broader politics that concern USyd students — far beneath that of both Rand Khatib (59%) and Angus Fisher (70%).
Thorpe scored highest in the SRC section, demonstrating decent knowledge of the current status of the organisation, but notably failed to accurately name both motions passed during this year’s SGM. More concerningly for a candidate who professes to return the SRC to a focus on governance and working with the University, Thorpe’s weakest quiz section was that pertaining to USyd. Thorpe failed to name two subject areas that have experienced course cuts in the last year, and demonstrated limited knowledge of the Campus Access Policy.
Though the policy statement provided to Honi by Thorpe was relatively brief, his goals seemed to be straightforward and feasible, including improving the International Student Lounge, installing a Return&Earn depository, and providing more water bubblers. However, Thorpe’s full policy statement (provided for print in Election Honi) was much larger than those sent to Honi ahead of the interview. It is also worth noting these policies include positions far more controversial than those presented for the interview.
It seemed the more general, approach-oriented policies were those most significant to Thorpe’s campaign, particularly his policy of “reason over radicality”. Thorpe criticised the current state of the SRC, stating that in his 2023 term as Interfaith Officer, “there was so much talk about ‘we want people to be angry, we want people to be radical’,” which he regarded as “not conducive to making good decisions.” When pushed on what his vision of ‘reason’ would be for the SRC, Thorpe cited both Aristotle and his background as an Engineering student as examples. Along with this, Thorpe also remarked that he possessed a “cool head” and “an ability to work with people I disagree with”, specifically citing Labor Right and Labor Left as factions he sees positive qualities in.
When pressed on Palestine, Thorpe said “I don’t think the SRC really has a way to end the conflict,” noting that he believed that “the student body has done pretty much everything it can on that matter.”
Thorpe’s environmental policies revolve entirely around waste management, which he called “a really important issue.” Thorpe claimed that he has often tried to pick up rubbish on campus, only to find that the bins are overflowing. Alongside his push for a Return&Earn bin on campus, Thorpe also plans for bins to be emptied more often.
Honi asked Thorpe whether this represented a superficial environmental policy, given the fact that the University has not committed to full divestment from fossil fuels. “It’s just not really feasible to move completely away from fossil fuels at this stage,” Thorpe replied, before discussing his “family over in Europe” that had to have power curfews during recent heat waves. “I think from memory, even if you covered the entirety of Tasmania in solar panels, you wouldn’t have enough,” Thorpe claimed, explicitly stating that policy combating climate change was not part of his general goal as President.
Thorpe’s main experience for the role of President derives from his term as SRC Interfaith Officer for 2023, as well as his roles on the executives of the Libertarian Society and the Evangelical Union. Despite his presence alongside Freya Leach and Satvik Sharma as inflammatory right-wing provocateurs in the last year’s SRC, Thorpe presented himself as polite and reserved, and kept his notorious bible-bashing to a minimum. Despite this, Thorpe did make explicit throughout the interview that his faith would inform his leadership, stating that “I want to serve them [students] and serve God” and that his presidency would follow “the model Jesus Christ showed”.
Furthermore, when pushed on some of his more controversial views, Thorpe was evasive, but eventually doubled down, stating that “I do think bad things happened as a part of colonisation, I also think good things have happened” and that “it was never legal to hold a slave in Australia.” Thorpe did not believe such statements were at odds with his self-characterisation as a moderate candidate.
Thorpe’s run for presidency comes at an interesting time for the University. As the largely left-wing SRC argues about ongoing strategies of negotiation and resistance, the USU remains under the control of Liberals, and the University, as always, is dominated by corporate interests and vampiric managers. While it is unlikely Thorpe will come out on top of this race, the preferences of voters from conservative backgrounds and the colleges will certainly have an effect on the results.
Campaigning will commence on Wednesday 11 September. Voting will run from 24 – 26 September with in-person ballots. For more information visit the SRC website.
