In the first threeway contest since 2020, Good News has beaten out rival tickets DRIVE and Wonder to lead the wealthiest student society in Australia in 2025.
Zara Paleologos has been elected President and is joined on the executive by Competition Directors Jess Zhang and Emily Guo, Vice President (Education) Ella Ye, Vice President (Careers) Oliver Xu, Vice President (Social Justice) Nour Al Hammouri, Secretary Finn Ball, Treasurer Toby Mok, Social Directors Alex Hammond and Antonella Khodr-Chah, Sponsorship Director Cynthia Hu, Sports Director Lucy Percival, International Student Officer Annika Wang, Campus Director Preethika Mathan, and Publications Director Lucinda Ross.
Good News got 273 first preference votes, DRIVE came in second with 261, and Wonder in third with 116.
The final SULS executive will be filled out with appointed positions including the autonomous portfolios before 2025.
The race began with five Presidential candidates that narrowed down to three tickets after an initial debate where the prospective President’s pitched themselves to the society. The three tickets clashed in a broadly inconclusive second debate.
Although Good News had a preference deal with Wonder, their preferences were not distributed evenly. 29 votes were exhausted, 38 went to DRIVE, and 49 to Good News. After preferences, Good News had a final total of 322 to DRIVE’s 299.
There was an increase in turnout compared to last year’s contest between Groove and Bloom of around 80 votes. 660 total ballots were cast.
Good News summarised their vision for SULS as “more accessible, inclusive, and community-driven.” Like DRIVE and Wonder, their policy platform focused on improving existing SULS’s initiatives rather than fundamentally changing the society.
Good News campaigned on a platform that included improving access to and updating the student tutoring database, starting a podcast to interview older students and graduates on how to break into the law world, and advocating for mandatory anti racism training for all staff and students.
The ticket also wants to start a campaign to correct ESL bias in on-call marking, expand advertising for international job opportunities, make financial reporting more accessible, and make publications more visible by expanding print distribution.
Paleologos released a statement on social media where she thanked both DRIVE and Wonder for the competitive race.
In a message to voters she said that “whether you voted for us, supported us, or got behind another ticket, your voices were heard. We can’t wait to bring our ideas to life with guidance from the diverse and vibrant community we’re eager to represent.”
Good News’s full policy platform can be found on their website.
